VLT and SALT spectroscopy of U Sco were obtained $sim$18 and $sim$30 months after the 2010 outburst. From these spectra the accretion disc is shown to take at least 18 months to become fully reformed. The spectral class of the companion is constraine
d to be F8$^{+5}_{-6}$,IV-V at the 95% confidence level when the irradiated face of the companion is visible.
U Scorpii is a recurrent nova which has been observed in outburst on 10 occasions, most recently in 2010. We present near-infrared and optical spectroscopy of the 2010 outburst of U Sco. The reddening of U Sco is found to be $E(B-V) = 0.14pm0.12$, co
nsistent with previous determinations, from simultaneous optical and near-IR observations. The spectra show the evolution of the line widths and profiles to be consistent with previous outbursts. Velocities are found to be up to 14000,kms$^{-1}$ in broad components and up to 1800,kms$^{-1}$ in narrow line components, which become visible around day 8 due to changes in the optical depth. From the spectra we derive a helium abundance of $N$(He)/$N$(H)$ = 0.073pm0.031$ from the most reliable lines available; this is lower than most other estimates and indicates that the secondary is not helium-rich, as previous studies have suggested.
