Tommy O’Brien will be sidelined for “a number of weeks” due to the ankle injury he sustained in Leinster’s bonus point win away to the Dragons last week.
The speedy 25-year-old winger had looked back to his very best this season when scoring in each of Leinster’s first three URC games, having missed almost a year with an ACL injury sustained in May last year after breaking into Leinster’s Champions Cup matchday squad.
This latest setback is an untimely interruption but at least it is evidently not as serious, and O’Brien would seem likely to return sometime next month. Leinster play their first interpro when Munster travel to the Aviva Stadium on November 25th before they travel to Connacht the following weekend.
Leo Cullen has also confirmed that all Leinster’s players involved in the Rugby World Cup have returned to training ahead of Saturday’s URC game against Scarlets in the RDS Arena (7.35pm).
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Prop Michael Milne, who has yet to feature this season, will step up his training programme this week as he continues his return from a shoulder injury while scrum-half Cormac Foley picked up a shoulder injury in Rodney Parade and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on his availability.
John McKee (hamstring), Luke McGrath (knee), Cian Healy (shoulder), Ed Byrne (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot) all remain sidelined indefinitely.
O’Brien’s start to the season had been a prolific one. Ahead of the weekend’s clash with the Dragons, he had made more metres (276) than any other player in the URC while his eight linebreaks were the most of any Leinster player.
Scrumhalf Cormac Foley, the other injury concern from the weekend, has been confirmed as having a shoulder issue and will be assessed this week before a decision is made on his availability for Saturday’s home fixture vs the Scarlets.
John McKee (hamstring), Luke McGrath (knee), Cian Healy (shoulder), Ed Byrne (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot) all remain unavailable.
Meanwhile, Ulster backthree player Ethan McIlroy will unsurprisingly miss his side’s game against the Lions at the Kingspan Stadium next Friday (kick-off 7.35pm) after the province confirmed that the 23-year-old suffered “a facial fracture” as well as concussion in their win over Munster last Friday night.
“He was treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital Emergency Department and was discharged home on Friday evening,” said Ulster in their weekly squad update, adding: “The Ulster Rugby medical team would like to thank their colleagues in the RVH for the excellent care and attention they afforded to Ethan, following his injury.”
