Chris Paterson, Scotland's most capped player, has been forced out of Edinburgh's game tonight against Ulster in the Magners League with a damaged ankle after a freak training-ground accident, in which Jim Hamilton, the 20st lock, tripped and fell on him. However, Andy Robinson, the Edinburgh coach, expects Paterson to be back in action in time for next week's opening match of the Heineken Cup, when Leinster visit Murrayfield.

Given the list of injuries that has cost Robinson ten players, and the need to rotate the squad to keep the Scotland players fresh for the autumn internationals - Robinson is resting Phil Godman, which suggests he is expecting the fly half to keep his starting place for the opening game against New Zealand - the last thing the coach needed was this kind of accident costing him his most experienced back.

“He got injured on Tuesday - in the last play of training Jim Hamilton sat on him,” Robinson said. “He sat on Paterson's ankle and bruised it. They were on the same team at the time too. It is just one of those injuries that you get. He picked up the ball, fell over and landed on him. It happens, you pick these injuries up. All sides get them, though we seem to have our fair share at the moment.”

Paterson's loss is the chance for Jim Thompson to earn his first start for the club after a couple of runs off the bench, a first step into the limelight for a player who has plenty of family experience of the media spotlight because his father is Derek Thompson, the horseracing presenter, and his grandfather is the legendary Bill McLaren.

In all, Robinson makes eight changes to the starting XV compared with the side that lost in Newport last week. Apart from Godman, Ross Ford and Geoff Cross are rested in the front row with Andy Kelly and Gavin Kerr replacing them; Ben Gissing returns for Craig Hamilton in the second row; and Alan MacDonald has a bruised eye and is also sidelined, with Scott Newlands replacing him and the back row being shuffled to accommodate him. Chris Fusaro, the academy openside, is lined up for his debut from the bench.

Behind the pack, Mike Blair, who was rested last week, is back to captain the side and will partner his brother, David, at half back, while John Houston also returns from injury and starts on the wing in place of Andy Turnbull, adding a more physical presence to the back play.

Despite having won only one of their opening four matches, Robinson feels that the team is starting to come together, though the injury list, which has seen the likes of Simon Webster, Ben Cairns, David Callam and Ross Rennie unavailable, has made life hard for those who remain.

“You look at our team this week, a lot of the players are starting to get a feel for each other,” Robinson said. “In Newport we created quite a few chances but were not ruthless enough to take them but at least we are creating the chances. It is just a question of having the ruthlessness inside the 22 to really strike home.”

With only one win, Robinson has had no problem in convincing the team that there is no room for complacency against a side sitting at the foot of the table, without a win. Ulster also shuffle their side with eight changes in personnel, including dropping Rob Dewey, the former Edinburgh centre, and two positional switches.

“We know we are going to be smashed around quite a bit with the history that is there and where Ulster are,” Robinson said. “They are going to come out and look for a storming performance, that is what all the talk is about. We know how hard they will be running but with [Paul] Steinmetz in the centre they will be playing with some width as well, and that is one of the areas in which we have to improve - to withstand an onslaught of guys running at us and not lose our shape in defence.”

Ulster: B Cunningham; C Schifcofske, D Cave, P Steinmetz, A Trimble; N O'Connor, C Willis; T Court, R Best (capt), BJ Botha, E O'Donoghue, R Caldwell, S Ferris, D Pollock, R Diack. Replacements: N Brady, J Fitzpatrick, C Del Fava, K Dawson/M McCullough, I Boss, I Humphreys, T Nagusa.

Edinburgh: J Thompson; J Houston, H Southwell, N De Luca, M Robertson; D Blair, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, A Kelly, G Kerr, J Hamilton, B Gissing, M Mustchin, A Hogg, S Newlands. Replacements: R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, C Fusaro, G Laidlaw, P Godman, C MacRae.