LEO CULLEN SAYS Leinster considered not flying Isa Nacewa back out to South Africa after he was originally refused entry into the country, but insists there are no regrets over the decision in hindsight.
The visa fiasco which resulted in Nacewa and Jamison Gibson-Park embarking on three long-haul flights in the space of as many days was compounded when the former limped off just 15 minutes into the defeat to the Cheetahs.
Nacewa sustained a calf strain in the Pro14 clash in Bloemfontein and having missed the weekend’s win over Edinburgh, is expected to be sidelined for this week’s clash with Munster as well as the Champions Cup pool opener against Montpellier.
The 35-year-old’s absence further stretches Leinster’s midfield options heading into the first defining block of the campaign with Garry Ringrose and Tom Daly long-term absentees, Robbie Henshaw yet to play since the Lions tour and now Noel Reid following return to play protocols after a bang to the head on Friday.
“It’s good, taking it a day at a time, in constant dialogue with the physios and the coaches [about] how much I can do, how much I can push it but it’s coming along fine,” Nacewa said when asked how the injury was.
The Leinster captain was unable to give a definitive timeline for his return and although he boldly declared himself available for Saturday’s Aviva Stadium showdown, Nacewa stressed the need to be sensible.
He continued: “Sooner rather than later hopefully. I’m just trying to get back as quick as possible. I don’t like injuries, I don’t like sitting on the sidelines so the faster I can get back the better.
“In my eyes, yes [to play against Munster]. I talk to the physios all the time. It’s about being sensible and about being right and we’ll see how fast it comes along. No time-frame yet.”
When asked if the travelling between hemispheres contributed in any way to the injury, Nacewa said: “Who knows? Flights are just part of it, it’s something I hadn’t done before, in my my calf. As I said, I’ll just try to get through it as quick as possible and back as fast as possible.”
Sitting next to his captain at this morning’s Champions Cup launch in Dublin, Cullen admitted that the province discussed whether they would fly both Nacewa and Gibson-Park back out once they obtained the necessary documentation.
“We did discuss it,” the head coach said. “Isa was keen to come back. Even if you see the way the game went, we knew we were short of a lot of experience.
“We start the game well, we scored a good early try, Isa goes off and we have a period where we leak a lot of points very quickly, so you can see how important his leadership is in the team. We discussed it, he gets a bang and it’s just the nature of the game.
“We made a call. Hindsight is great but we’re making those calls all the time. He’s a key figure for the team. We were missing a lot of experience at the time. The rest is history.”
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