IN THE WAKE of their painful Champions Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Racing 92 on Sunday, there are physical ailments for Munster’s John Ryan and Niall Scannell to nurse.
The southern province’s medical update today says the hooker is ‘being assessed’ for a knock while Ryan is under review for a back problem that forced the replacement prop to return to the bench before full-time in Bordeaux.
In positive news for the province before their Pro14 push begins with a home tie against Ulster at Thomond Park on Saturday, centre Jaco Taute has returned to on-field training for the first time since suffering serious knee ligament damage in the September win over Cardiff.
A return to full training for scrum-half Duncan Williams (facial injury) could allow Conor Murray to sit out the final regular season fixture, while Dan Goggin (knee) is also available again having been ruled out of the Racing clash.
Former Munster back row Jean Deysel will miss the return to Thomond Park as Ulster today marked him absent with a knee injury. Scrum-half John Cooney is being assessed after leaving the field for a HIA on Saturday.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old academy product Bill Johnston has been awarded a new two-year contract by Munster. The Tipperary native and former Ireland U20 out-half signed his first senior professional deal last summer.
