LEINSTER HAVE CONFIRMED that loosehead prop Paddy McCarthy will undergo surgery on the foot injury that could end his season.

The 22-year-old, who made a big impression for Ireland in November, suffered the injury early in the second half of last weekend’s Champions Cup win over La Rochelle.

McCarthy is now set for a procedure and will definitely miss the upcoming Six Nations. It remains to be seen if he returns this season, but the outlook is not positive.

His fellow Leinster and Ireland loosehead prop, Andrew Porter, is also a big doubt for the start of the Six Nations due to a calf injury, but he isn’t as long-term a concern.

“Paddy’s going to be out for a while, unfortunately,” said Leinster boss Leo Cullen today.

“He’s going to have a procedure done, so I think we’ll probably know a bit more once that’s done next week.

“Andrew, it’s a muscle, so I don’t know, it’s week-by-week, but he’s going to be gone for the next few weeks anyway, but we’ll see how that develops.

“I’m not 100% sure, I’m not sure anyone really is, but Paddy is a lot more serious, unfortunately.”

In a major relief for Leinster and Ireland, loosehead Jack Boyle is back from a shoulder issue and starts for the province against Bayonne tomorrow. He will be backed up by Jerry Cahir, who did well on his Champions Cup debut off the bench last weekend.

Boyle is now also the clear favourite to start for Ireland when they kick off their Six Nations campaign against France in Paris on 5 February.

Jack Boyle is back for Leinster. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s great to have Jack back,” said Cullen.

“He played the Connacht game [earlier this month], went off there, so he hasn’t been out for long. A good opportunity for him.

“It’s good to see Jerry as well, he gets another crack at this level, which is fantastic for everyone involved in AIL rugby. Big thanks again to Lansdowne! I messaged their coach Declan Fassbender during the week, it’s an amazing story.

“For Jack, it’s a great opportunity for him coming away here to France, never easy, so it’s a proper challenge now for our guys all across the board.”

Cullen has opted to give Harry Byrne a start at out-half in Bayonne after his game-winning penalty against La Rochelle last weekend. Sam Prendergast drops to the bench.

It’s not a shock selection given that Byrne has already had big starts against Leicester and Munster in recent months, but it clearly improves Byrne’s chances of pressing his case for a return with Ireland in the Six Nations.

“I think every week is an audition for everybody,” said Cullen when asked about this prospect.

“You know, it’s not looking too far ahead about different consequences. Players have to just focus on the here and now, which is trying to control what they can, which is their own performance in the context of what the team needs as well.

“Harry and Sam are both doing a great job for us this year in terms of how they have shared the load because we know because of player management and international players being gone at certain stages, and Harry has been more of a constant in the group because the international guys are in and out and they have to be managed at certain stages.

“But they’re working really well together and that’s really pleasing. Sam started last week. At 60 minutes, we made that call because we thought we needed freshness from Harry and his eyes that he would deliver, and then it’s OK, what do we do with the rest of the team and different scenarios that we would have teased out as coaches leading into the game? Sam moves to 15 as Harry comes on to 10, and you could see it for a couple of tries and how Sam is directing some of the forwards around because there’s tired bodies out there in an intense physical game that that was last weekend.

Harry Byrne is at out-half for Leinster. Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

“So having that mix, and it’s no different for us this week.

“So it’s not really me to comment on all these different other things that might go on. We just need to look at our own context of delivering for Leinster, and then if that works out well for individuals, we hope that they get rewarded and all the rest.

“The big thing is like, how do we go about it with the two players that we’re talking about, how do they work together in coming together with a plan that will be effective in this game, for the start of the game and the end of the game.

“With Ciarán pulling out last week, we’ve rejigged the rest of the backline with Garry coming back in there as well, Jimmy O’Brien back in at 15. Because Sam has obviously played 20 minutes there at the weekend, maybe that is the way that he will end the game at 15, but it’s just doing what’s right for the team at this moment in time.

“In other games, we’ve used Sam at 10 and Harry at 12. I think the two of them have been fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough about the two of them. I hope they both go well, and I hope they both go on to represent Ireland during this Six Nations period coming up as well, but that’s quite a while away yet.”