Adam Hastings says Scotland's top players will need to step up and "really shine" if the squad is to deliver a successful Six Nations amid a deepening injury crisis.

The Glasgow Warriors fly-half, 28, is among a raft of players unavailable to head coach Gregor Townsend through injury, with the likes of captain Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings and Max Williamson set to miss the entire tournament.

Scotland start their campaign against Italy in Edinburgh on Saturday.

"You kind of get that flat feeling, especially when there is big injuries like that, when you're missing big personalities as well, not just players, but big personalities in the team," Hastings told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"I think they will need to rely on their bigger players now - and they need to step up even more. You look at someone like Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn has been playing over in France, and I think they'll really be looking to them now to really shine."

Hastings believes "we can still be very positive" going into the Six Nations.

"There's a tiny bit more pressure on the depth of the squad, but boys have been playing brilliantly for their clubs, some of the best form I've seen," he said.

A home game against the Italians is viewed by some as the perfect game to open the championship for Scotland, but after defeat in Rome in last season's Six Nations - and having been taken to the wire by the Azzurri in victory in the 2023 championship - Hastings says nobody in the Scotland camp will be looking past the threat Italy pose.

"It's funny, even some of my mates from school, they all kind of have that mindset like, 'we're going to smash Italy', but it's not a thing [within the camp]," Hastings said.

Hastings, who confirmed he is still about five weeks from a return to action after sustaining a fractured jaw against Fiji in the autumn, stressed "there is absolutely no way there's a mismatch" given Italy's qualities.

"They've got some really, really good players in that team," Hastings added. "Look at the midfield partnership, [Paolo] Garbisi as well, Ange Capuozzo, they're no slouches.

"Treviso are a seriously hard team to beat - playing away over there in the URC is brutal.

"Obviously, we're going to go in confident and target that game as the first one up, and I'm sure we will go full noise, but Italy are a brilliant team. They've been improving every single year for a number of years now."