TALISMANIC NUMBER EIGHT Marcell Coetzee is an injury doubt for Ulster as they prepare for their Champions Cup quarter-final clash with Toulouse in France on Sunday.
The powerful South African back row was replaced after just 48 minutes of Ulster’s Guinness Pro14 final defeat to Leinster last weekend and head coach Dan McFarland has revealed Coetzee was not fully fit leading into the decider at the Aviva Stadium.
With Coetzee such a key man, Ulster will be eager to see him come through his unspecified injury concerns to feature against Toulouse.
“Marcell has tightened up,” said McFarland today. “Marcell had a tough week last week. He was carrying a couple of niggles going into the game and didn’t train as much as he or we would have wanted.
“In the game, he tightened up a little bit as well. As far as he is concerned, we are going to have to see how he goes this week.”
The Ulster boss confirmed that Ulster won’t be able to welcome back any players from injury this weekend, meaning fullback Will Addison remains sidelined with his back issue.
However, McFarland was pleased to report that captain Iain Henderson came through his surprise early return from a hip injury last weekend unscathed.
“Iain came through really well,” said McFarland. “I thought he did a remarkable job.
“We showed a clip this morning of him doubling up in big tackles, which I thought was terrific. It was exactly what I expected. He is good to go.”
