KEITH EARLS HAS been released from hospital with “no concerns” after undergoing scans on his neck and back.
The Ireland international was stretchered off in the first half of Munster’s 24-7 defeat to Leinster at Thomond Park, having received treatment for a number of minutes.
Earls was immediately transferred Limerick Regional Hospital to undergo scans, but Munster head coach Anthony Foley was relieved to report that no serious issues had shown up.
“I just spoke to Keith inside there,” said Foley post-match at Thomond Park. “He’s back from the hospital so that’s good, and he’s walking around. After he offloaded the ball, he fell and connected, I think, with a leg and had a bit of a shock through the body. That was looked after.”
Earls has sustained concussions twice this season already, naturally leading to fears that this incident was the latest one. However, Foley stressed that Earls had not suffered concussion on this occasion.
No, it’s a neck, neck,” said Foley. “When he fell to the ground and his head hit the back of somebody’s ankle, as he fell to the ground, he felt a pain in his chest and in his back. He was taken to hospital, he’s been released from hospital with no concerns.”
It remains unclear how long Earls will be sidelined for, but he would appear to be a major doubt for the meeting with Ulster in Belfast on 2 January.
James Cronin is in a similar camp after he limped off during Munster’s loss in Limerick. Foley said the loosehead prop had suffered an ankle injury and is now on crutches.
Conor Murray failed a fitness test yesterday and is another doubt for the trip to Ulster.
“Conor Murray failed a fitness test yesterday, so I’ve no update today. We’ll see what way he turns up tomorrow,” said Foley. “It was the hip pointer he came off against Leicester with.”
More clarity on the injuries will be provided tomorrow, when Munster’s medical team can carry out full tests on the players.
Meanwhile, Leinster coach Leo Cullen is not optimistic about Cian Healy’s chances of featuring for the province in their New Year’s Day meeting with Connacht.
The Ireland prop limped off in the second half of Leinster’s win, having replaced Jack McGrath in the front row.
He twisted his knee,” said Cullen. “We’ll get it assessed. He’s hobbling around the dressing room, so obviously he’s not looking great for next week. I can’t really tell you a huge amount more than that.
“He complained about it around seven or eight minutes before he went off. There wasn’t an actual incident in the game that he remembers, so we’ll get him assessed. We’ll give him a scan tomorrow but it’s a five-day turnaround.”
