ULSTER RUGBY HAVE this evening confirmed that winger Craig Gilroy will miss the weekend inter-pro clash against Connacht after suffering a fractured eye socket in Sunday’s victory in Toulouse.
The Ireland international clashed heads with powerful Fijian Semi Kunatani after a 12th minutes tackle and was replaced by Rory Scholes as Ulster claimed a 23 – 25 win.
Franco van der Merwe owes him a cool beer or two to hold against his face over Christmas after his floated short pass gave Kunatani plenty of time to drive up and through his target before driving Gilroy into the turf.
The South African displayed much better handling skill off his right hand in the second half however, sending Andrew Trimble in for a try to push Ulster further clear.
Though Ulster have only ruled Gilroy out of contention for one game so far, the injury clearly makes him a doubt for Ulster’s New Year clash at home to Munster and the remaining Champions Cup pool fixtures. Toulouse’s own Census Johnston almost a month with a fractured eye socket earlier this season, while last year, over six weeks passed before Sam Burgess made his Bath debut after fracturing his eye socket and cheek in the NRL Grand Final.