Luke Fitzgerald

is 18 days into rehabilitation following shoulder surgery for an injury that dates back to a tackle on former Munster and New Zealander wing

Doug Howlett

in 2011. The recovery timeframe is 12 weeks guaranteeing his availability for Ireland’s

World Cup

warm-up games that begin in August.

The scheduling of the operation, that saw him miss Leinster’s last couple of matches, was decided with the player’s best interests at heart. He explained: “I got a knock against Toulon, tackled a guy off a kick-off and it (shoulder) subluxed again; which means it came out of the socket and went back in.

“I ploughed on but it was sore. I played the Ulster game the week after and I didn’t get a bad knock or anything, but it was just really, really sore after the game. Once I wasn’t going to be available for Treviso it was a no-brainer to have the surgery.

“I was pretty happy to get it done because it’s been a long-standing issue. I hurt it in the Magners final in 2011. It was a labral tear and I got the bicep tendon done as well. While the surgeon was in there he said he saw an opportunity to fix that up.

“To be honest with you, I went in and saw him last week and he explained the whole thing. I was saying that’s some amount to be doing, but he said it’s pretty normal. He did a great job in fairness to him so I was delighted with that. It didn’t change the time for recovery because that was a big concern going into it.

“It’s 12 weeks, same as Sean Cronin, same as Marty Moore. So I’m in the same boat as them which is kind of good because you’re not on your down doing the rehab for the whole process. I know that sounds like a small thing, but it’s a good thing for keeping you sane for those initial periods.”

Having never played in a World Cup, Fitzgerald has no qualms about missing out on some holiday time in favour of dedicating himself to the rehab process.

“It’s a small price,” he said.