Key Glasgow Warriors man 'touch and go' for Toulon clash as hooker exit confirmed

Horne injured his ankle and had to come off after half an hour of the win over the Bulls in the round of 16 at Scotstoun at the weekend. He was replaced by Ben Afshar who stepped up impressively in the 25-21 victory over the South Africans.

Horne, one of Glasgow’s most influential and prolific players, has scored 10 tries this season for club and country and started four out of five of the Warriors’ Champions Cup games.

“He’s still being assessed,” said Carolan. “He's walking around, he's hopefully not as bad as first thought. It looked quite nasty when you look back at it but the fact he played on for 10 or 15 minutes after was, I think, a positive thing.

Both Scotland scrum-halves could be missing

“It probably shows the character of George as well, that nothing's going to stop him. So he's still being assessed. He'll be touch and go for the weekend.”

With Jamie Dobie also currently sidelined after injuring his shoulder while playing for Scotland against England in the Six Nations, the Warriors could be without both their international scrum-halves as they bid to make the Champions Cup semi-finals for the first time.

Carolan, the Glasgow attack coach, believes Afshar and recent academy graduate Jack Oliver are ready to take on the mantle if Horne is ruled out.

“It could be a bit too soon [for Horne], but if that's the case, look, we've got Ben Afshar who's done really well and Jack Oliver has been integrated into the squad over the last couple of weeks and was tremendous in his last game out [against Benetton].”

We coped with Dupont...

Afshar, 23, and Oliver, 22, could find themselves up against Toulon’s international scrum-halves Ben White, of Scotland, and Baptiste Serin, of France, but the prospect does not faze Carolan who cited his club’s victory over a star-studded Toulouse side in the pool stage as evidence of their ability to handle the big occasion.

“We've had Antoine Dupont here only a couple of months ago and I think the lads acquitted themselves quite well,” said the coach.

“We've put ourselves into that position and to get to play against the quality of these teams is something that we've earned and something that we look forward to and something that we look forward to testing ourselves against.”

Toulon have injury concerns of their own, with French international prop Dany Priso ruled out after rupturing his Achilles tendon in their last-16 win over the Stormers on Saturday.

Hooker Matthews to leave

Glasgow, meanwhile, have confirmed that Johnny Matthews is to leave the club at the end of the season, with the hooker’s move to Montauban expected to be announced this week.

“It's never nice to lose a player like Johnny - he's been brilliant for us - but it's just the evolution of a rugby team,” said Carolan. “And, you know, it's just great that we've got really good quality young guys coming through.”

Matthews, 32, who has scored 51 tries in 105 appearances for the Warriors, had the chance to stay at the club but Montauban offered a longer-term contract.

“Look, there was an option for Johnny but it probably wasn't a long-term option. He's got a pretty good dea and we wouldn't stand in his way. He's got to look after himself as well, a he's got a multi-year deal in France, something that suits him and his young family.

“We wish Johnny all the best. He's been brilliant for us over the last few years.”