Max Evans displays maximum commitment to Glasgow

MAX Evans' desire to help Glasgow stay at the top of the Magners League and continue to push for a Scotland place was clear yesterday when it was revealed the centre had called coach Sean Lineen from Wales to state he wanted to be involved this week.

Glasgow return to Firhill tonight for what is certain to be a tough league match with a strong-looking Cardiff side. Evans' younger brother Thom remains at the University Hospital Cardiff, having undergone a second operation yesterday to improve the spinal injury he suffered during the first half of Saturday's RBS Six Nations Championship match.

Max Evans declined to comment yesterday as he continued to offer support to his brother and family through this latest stage of his recovery. However, Lineen, the Glasgow coach, stated he was delighted to hear Max's enthusiasm.

Lineen stated: "Max rung me up – he was desperate to play – which shows the character of the man. That was a really good fillip for the team. To have a guy like that coming back at this time is fantastic.

"I've had a chat with Thom as well. What's happened is very sad and it's about taking things a day at a time, but the lad's tough and he's been in good form; as good as he can be. My heart goes out to the Evans family. Thom's in the best possible place at the moment, getting the best care. James Robson and Lisa Casey did an outstanding job on the field. Our thoughts are with him at the moment."

• Glasgow team to face Cardiff

The on-field work of Dr Robson and Casey, who is the Glasgow physio and doubles up on Scotland duty, has been widely acknowledged among the rugby and medical communities as having played a crucial part in ensuring Evans now has a healthy future to look forward to. The SRU hope to provide an update on Evans' condition today.

The shocking injury to their flying winger has steeled the Glasgow squad in their determination not only to beat Cardiff tonight and hold on to their top spot in the Magners League, but to finish the season strongly. They are missing 13 players in all this week, with Rob Dewey, the centre-wing, the latest to join the casualty unit, suffering a broken hand playing for Gael Force last week that could keep him out for over a month.

Cardiff are without 13 internationalists including Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny, Martyn Williams, Gareth Thomas and Andy Powell, but can call upon such as Ben Blair, Casey Laulala, Tom Shanklin and Xavier Rush.

Glasgow have a young pack with Scotland No8 Richie Vernon back from glandular fever and young openside Chris Fusaro making his first start – the academy player is close to a full-time contract – but former Wasps scrum-half Mark McMillan, who captains the team for the first time competitively and is out of contract this summer, is eager to prove the club has the strength in depth to stay in the title race.

"I'm proud to captain Glasgow," he said. "This is a huge game. We can't rest on the fact we're at the top of the league. New pressure comes with being at the top of the league and teams looking to topple us, so it's vital we use home advantage and get the Firhill crowd behind us."

Cardiff: B Blair; T James, C Laulaula, T Shanklin, C Czekaj; C Sweeney, G Cooper; T Filise, R Thomas, G Powell, D Jones, P Tito (capt), M Molitika, B White, X Rush. Subs: H Dowden, S Andrews, S Morgan, A Pretorious, D Allinson, S Norton-Knight, D Hewitt.