MACK HANSEN HAS been ruled out of Ireland’s summer trip to Australia and New Zealand for the inaugural Nations Championship.

The winger has been out of action since December, when he underwent surgery for a troublesome foot injury.

Connacht have extended their season with a remarkable run of eight wins in nine games to reach the URC quarter-finals but head coach Stuart Lancaster said there is no chance of Hansen making it back even if they went all the way to the final.

And he confirmed that Hansen is not being considered for the summer tour to Australia and New Zealand, and that the best scenario is to have Hansen back for pre-season duty.

“Yeah, he’s ruled out. He’s running now, up and down the pitch, but he’s not running around with a rugby ball in his hand,” said Lancaster.

“So hopefully he’s going to come back into pre-season. He’s still got a lot of markers to hit and boxes to tick, but he’s definitely moving in the right direction.

“He’s very positive about everything, it’s a coordinated relationship with Ireland and the Ireland medical team and the physio teams and everything, so it’s all on plan, all on track, and yeah, there’s no reason why Mack shouldn’t come back a better player.”

Next season will see Connacht back in the Champions Cup with a squad bolstered by Lancaster’s first signings, the biggest of which is the move by Ciarán Frawley from Leinster to rejoin his former coach.

And Lancaster agreed that the superb cameo produced off the bench by Frawley for Leinster in the Champions Cup final on Saturday is exactly what he’s looking for when the 28-year-old arrives in Galway next season.

“Obviously it was difficult circumstances for anyone to come on in, but I thought he did really well,” added Lancaster.

“He definitely tried to get the game moving and tried to develop the attack. Sometimes, it’s a different pressure, or less pressure, when you’re coming on, and the scoreline is what it is, it’s a lot of different starting.

Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

“But I know Ciarán well enough, I’ve coached him since he was 18, so I know him very well, and I know he’ll be looking forward to the opportunity to come here and put his mark down as a 10 for sure.”

Lancaster made it clear when he announced Frawley’s signing that he was bringing him to Connacht to play at out-half, a position where he has not started for Leinster for over a year.

“I think that’s what he’s been wanting to put his hand up for, both from a club perspective, but also for the national perspective as well.

“We’ve got Josh Ioane who has the ability to play in the back three, and obviously it was around the time of Jack Carty’s decision to retire, so there was a natural opportunity came up, and it just happened to be right place, right time.

“So, delighted to have him, but I suspect he’ll be on the, the Ireland tour and the realities of that Ireland tour it will still be in progress before we even start pre-season, so he’s not going to get to us until end of August, September.”