Gregor Townsend expressed sympathy for Dave Cherry after the veteran hooker’s first World Cup was brought to a premature end by a fall down the stairs at Scotland’s team hotel. It emerged on Thursday that the 32-year-old had withdrawn from the squad with concussion after he took a tumble and banged his head at the Scots’ tournament base near Nice on Monday while the players were enjoying some down time with their families. The previous day, Cherry had played his first World Cup match as a second-half replacement for George Turner in the 18-3 defeat by South Africa in Marseille. The Edinburgh hooker flew out of France on Thursday to return home, where his fiancee, Olivia, is due to give birth in the coming weeks. Stuart McInally – cut from the provisional training squad last month – has been drafted in as Cherry’s replacement. Stuart McInally in training in July Stuart McInally in training in July. He was omitted from the World Cup squad but now gets his chance. Photograph: David Gibson/Fotosport/Shutterstock “It’s very difficult for Dave, and it’s sad,” Townsend, the head coach, said in Nice. “At least he got to play in a game. His wife [sic] is just about to give birth so at least he’s got something positive to go back to. He did well to get himself into the World Cup squad and he did well at the weekend. He would have had more involvement as we went through the pool.” Cherry’s misfortune has paved the way for a remarkable career swansong for McInally. The 33-year-old announced in April that he would be retiring from rugby after the World Cup to pursue a career as an airline pilot. He was part of Townsend’s 41-man provisional training group for the tournament, but the head coach then omitted him when he named his final 33-man squad in August, seemingly ending the career of the man who captained the Scots at the last World Cup in Japan. However the long-serving Edinburgh forward was invited out to France last week to provide cover after the hooker Ewan Ashman sustained a head knock in training and he attended Sunday’s match against the world champions before being told his services were no longer required and flying home on Monday. McInally’s rollercoaster summer then took another twist when he was summoned back to the south of France on Wednesday. Dave Cherry with Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe and South Africa’s hooker Malcolm Marx, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Siya Kolisi in Sunday’s match. Dave Cherry (centre) with Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe and South Africa’s Malcolm Marx, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Siya Kolisi during Sunday’s match. Photograph: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty “He’s been called out twice now,” said Townsend, reflecting on a whirlwind period for the veteran. “On Monday I was chatting to him back at the hotel and I said: ‘You can stay until tomorrow or go back today, it looks like Ewan is on track to make a full recovery, so there’s no reason to stay.’ “And then he came back out two days later and he’s trained today. He’s obviously kept training, he’s been topping up [his fitness] and he’s always said he’d be ready for the opportunity.” Scotland trained on Thursday for the first time since the bruising encounter with South Africa and Townsend was pleased to see Finn Russell come through the session after the talismanic fly-half took a couple of heavy hits against the Boks, one of which required lengthy on-field treatment.