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James Coughlan is crunched by Stephen Ferris, left, and Stefan Terblanche during Sunday's Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat against Ulster. ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Injury news

Coughlan and Earls injury doubts for Munster

James Coughlan and Keith Earls both picked up the knocks during Sunday’s 22-16 Heineken Cup defeat against Ulster.

MUNSTER WILL HAVE to wait until later in the week to determine the seriousness of James Coughlan’s hand injury.

The number eight is a doubt for Saturday evening’s RaboDirect Pro12 game against Glasgow Warriors after he fractured a bone in his left hand during the Heineken Cup defeat against Ulster last weekend.

Coughlan played through the pain and finished the full 80 minutes on Sunday but is due to see a specialist this week to establish the full extent of the damage and a timeline for his recovery.

Keith Earls is also due to have a further check-up today on the leg injury which left him visibly limping in the latter stages of the 22-16 defeat. Earls finished the game but was in some discomfort afterwards and is also a doubt for the Glasgow game.

News of the two injuries comes at a crucial stage of Munster’s season, with the Pro12 now their only remaining chance of silverware. With three games still to play before the semi-final line-up is complete, Tony McGahan’s men are currently third but face tricky tests against fellow play-off hopefuls Scarlets and Ulster in their final two games.

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