LAST WEEK, DAVE Kearney described this season as ‘the worst’ of his career after two separate injury layoffs had kept him out of action for six months — but he spoke with encouragement and excitement now that he was back fit.
The Leinster winger had made a 20-minute cameo off the bench in the victory over Ospreys a fortnight ago and stepped up his comeback with a start against Connacht in Galway last Saturday.
He had hopes of breaking into Leo Cullen’s plans for this weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final and then playing his part in Leinster’s push for silverware down the home stretch.
But the injury curse, inexplicably, struck again; and the look on Kearney’s face as he was helped off the Sportsground pitch said it all.
The exact diagnosis of his latest injury setback has yet to be confirmed, but the 27-year-old is now facing another period on the sidelines after rolling his ankle two games into his comeback.
“I’ll have a scan in the next couple of days so I don’t really know what the situation is yet so I guess I’ll find out more,” he told The42 earlier. “Hopefully it’s not too serious.”
It was first feared Kearney had sustained an ACL injury to his knee but, in fact, he had damaged the same ankle which had kept him on the sideline for a couple of months before Christmas.
Thankfully, it’s not the same problem but as he and Leinster await the results of the scan, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be back in time to play again this season.
“I didn’t expect to be here [injured] again this week, extremely frustrating and gutting to get another setback,” he added.
“Hopefully it’s not too serious and I can get back on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Dave Kearney was speaking at the launch of the first ever #BoostYourAwareness Touch Rugby Blitz, which will take place on Friday, 19 May, in Lansdowne Rugby Football Club. Teams can register for the blitz here.
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