It is as well for Scotland that proposals to play the Six Nations over five successive weeks are not already in place. They would otherwise be playing Wales at Murrayfield this Saturday, six days after a bruising encounter against France in Paris that left four of Scotland’s players with concussion and the captain, Greig Laidlaw, with his right foot in a brace.

Laidlaw is the player giving Scotland the greatest concern before the match against Wales on 25 February. The scrum-half has returned to his club, Gloucester, this week under the World Rugby regulation regarding player release and he will be assessed by the club’s medical staff.

Laidlaw was replaced 24 minutes into the 22-16 defeat in Paris after falling awkwardly in a tackle and injuring his ankle. There were suggestions afterwards that he faced missing the rest of the Six Nations but the Scotland head coach, Vern Cotter, said he did not want to speculate before a scan.

Losing Laidlaw would be a considerable blow for Scotland, who are looking for their first victory over Wales since 2007 having followed their opening-round win over Ireland at Murrayfield with a bold display against France. They outscored their hosts by two tries to one but lost to two penalties in the final nine minutes.

The four Scotland players following the concussion return to play protocol include two flankers: John Barclay was replaced by John Hardie after 35 minutes but his replacement failed to return for the second half. Barclay also sustained a shoulder injury and is being assessed this week in Wales, having returned to the Scarlets.

The centre Alex Dunbar and hooker Fraser Brown also had health impact assessments during the match. The former passed his during the game but afterwards developed symptoms that were in keeping with concussion and is following the return to play protocol. In additionthe No8 Josh Strauss sustained a heavy blow to his side and is having treatment but the props Allan Dell and Zander Fagerson, who suffered injuries during the game, are not considered doubts for next week.

“We are hoping that everyone will be right for the next game,” Cotter said. “It was a physical encounter against France but the players stuck in really well defensively. Losing Greig, who plays a big part for us, early was a blow but these things happen and we had trained for it.”

Wales have doubts over the wing George North, who missed the defeat by England in Cardiff after failing to recover from a dead leg, and the flanker Sam Warburton, who sustained a shoulder injury just before the move that led to England’s winning try.

North has returned to Northampton this week before Sunday’s Premiership match at Newcastle while Warburton, who has a history of shoulder injuries, does not expect the latest one to sideline him. “It was just a knock and I am sure I will be back training on Tuesday,” he said. “We have three matches left now and they are all must-wins because we want to win the championship and that will not happen if we lose another game.”

Laidlaw’s club, Gloucester, will learn on Tuesday whether the organisers of the European Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup will sanction a proposed takeover of the club by the Montpellier owner, Mohed Altrad. The board of European Professional Club Rugby is meeting in Switzerland to consider whether the move would lead to a potential conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, London Irish have been given permission to move into Brentford Football Club’s new stadium, which is expected to be ready for the start of the 2019-20 season.