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Johannesburg - Scotland prop Geoff Cross has become the second player to be ruled out of the rest of the three-test tour of South Africa because of injury, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) said on Monday.
Cross, who has a shoulder joint injury, joins hooker Pat MacArthur on the sidelines after Saturday's bruising 27-17 loss to Samoa in Durban as the Scots prepare for this weekend's encounter against South Africa in Nelspruit.
MacArthur was ruled out on Sunday after suffering a knee injury early on in his debut against the Pacific islanders and is returning to Scotland for further treatment.
The Scots also have doubts over captain Kelly Brown, who has an ankle problem, and fellow loose forward Johnnie Beattie with a shoulder joint sprain, the SRU said on its website (www.scottishrugby.org).
Flyhalf Tom Heathcote and centre Alex Dunbar suffered concussion and are also in doubt for Saturday's test against hosts South Africa.
"As a consequence of the injuries, the Scotland team to face the Springboks - which was due to be announced tomorrow (Wednesday) - will now be named on Thursday," the SRU said.
Scotland have not announced replacements for Cross and MacArthur but have flown in Glasgow Warriors prop Jon Welsh as a replacement for Ryan Grant, who left on the eve of the Samoa test to join up with the British and Irish Lions in Australia as an injury replacement.
Scotland are participating in a four-nation test series that also includes Italy.
