"I'm absolutely gutted for him," Jonny told reporters soon after Richie's withdrawal from the team was announced on Monday.
The Toulouse lock would remain in France for rehabilitation and it remained unclear how long he would be out of action, Scottish Rugby said on Monday.
"It would be great to have him here and it's been a while since we've seen him and we hope he'll be back soon. I don't think it's something too serious. He'll be back sooner rather than later," Jonny added.
"I miss Rich, he's a great guy and, as a rugby player, it's great to have him about, training and working with him and getting his ideas. He's not too far away on the phone," the 23-year-old said.
"He's always available to speak about different things. He's got a lot of information as well, and he gets it from us as well for when he comes back in."
The 28-year-old Richie, who has 65 caps, has not played for Scotland since their Calcutta Cup clash against England in March as he battled a long-term back injury for most of last year.
Jonny played in six subsequent tests, including all three in November, when Scotland beat Australia and Samoa and came close to upsetting world champions New Zealand.
Scotland's last international was a record 53-24 victory over the Wallabies in November, while they ended a nine-game losing streak against Wales in last year's Six Nations.
However, they Scots have not won any of their last eight visits to Cardiff, with their most recent victory there a 27-22 success in 2002.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by John O'Brien)
Share
