AFTER A DEFEAT to Benetton that was as bruising to the ego as it was to the bodies involved, Leinster’s medics say Sean O’Brien ‘will be further assessed’ after reporting some soreness in his shoulder on Saturday.
The openside played 40 minutes of the loss to the Italian club, adding to his 27-minute long comeback from the shoulder injury against Scarlets in February.
Head coach Leo Cullen’s post-match update made it sound unlikely that the Ireland and Lions openside will be fully fit to face Scarlets in this weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final.
“He’ll be 50-50 I’d say,” said senior coach Stuart Lancaster in UCD today.
“Seanie will push hard, similarly Luke McGrath, but we’ll make those decisions in the next 24 hours.”
McGrath will also continue to be assessed by Leinster’s medical team and the scrum-half’s fitness or otherwise holds knock-on effects for the availability of Scott Fardy (who was put forward for media in UCD today) and wing James Lowe.
The good news on the injury update was that Jack Conan is set to resume full training this week after a knee injury and Robbie Henshaw is available to play his first match since injuring his shoulder scoring a try for Ireland against Italy.
Rory O’Loughlin, who departed Saturday’s loss for a HIA, will follow the return to play protocols while Richardt Strauss has been ruled out of the European semi-final after picking up a calf knock in the loss to Benetton.
Out-half Cathal Marsh has returned to full training after a lengthy absence with a toe injury.
