ROB KEARNEY’S LATEST hamstring injury will keep him out of action for the next two months, while Leinster have confirmed Dan Leavy faces a similar period on the sidelines.
Kearney, who made his first appearance since January during pre-season, suffered the fresh setback in the Guinness Pro14 victory over Cardiff Blues and has now emerged a serious doubt for Ireland’s November internationals.
The 31-year-old fullback was withdrawn at half-time in the second game of the season and after missing the province’s trip to South Africa, a scan has now revealed the extent of the damage.
Kearney was plagued by hamstring problems during the 2015/16 season and missed the second half of last term with a bicep injury.
Leavy emerged as another casualty from the Cardiff game and the flanker has been ruled out for up to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his ankle.
Both Kearney and Leavy will miss Leinster’s Pro14 games against Edinburgh and Munster as well as the Champions Cup pool openers against Montpellier and Glasgow Warriors.
While both are likely to return ahead of Ireland’s November dates with South Africa (12), Fiji (18) and Argentina (25), they will have a very limited window to get back to full match fitness before Schmidt selects his squad.
Meanwhile, Noel Reid, Jordi Murphy, Dave Kearney and Joey Carbery all came through their first appearances of the season unscathed at the weekend as Leinster saw off the Kings.
There was no update given on Jamie Heaslip (lower back), Richardt Strauss (knee), Tom Daly (knee), Peadar Timmins (quad), Robbie Henshaw (pectoral muscle), Johnny Sexton (wrist and ankle), Tadhg Furlong (thumb), Seán O’Brien (shoulder) and Garry Ringrose (shoulder).
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