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©INPHO/James Crombie
hit for 6

Connacht captain Muldoon out for 6 weeks with calf tear

Dave McSharry is nearing a return to full fitness after playing 80 minutes for Connacht Eagles.

CONNACHT WILL BE without captain and influential back row John Muldoon for six weeks, the province confirmed today.

Muldoon, 30, suffered a torn calf in the second half of Friday’s narrow Heineken Cup defeat at home to Saracens.

The time-frame will scupper any hope the blindside had of joining up with Joe Schmidt’s Ireland squad in November, but should see him return in good time for the western province’s third and fourth round Heineken Cup clashes against Toulouse.

Prop Brett Wilkinson was also withdrawn early from the 17 – 23 defeat to last season’s semi-finalists, but his ‘knock to the quad’ muscle is not expected to rule him out for this weekend’s trip to face Zebre.

A calf injury will keep Nathan White sidelined for a further two weeks and centre Eoin McKeon faces another five weeks out.

There is better news in the shape of Dave McSharry and Denis Buckley, the young centre and prop played a full 80 minutes for the Connacht Eagles on their return from injury. If not considered for the visit to Parma, both could return to face McSharry’s home province Leinster in the Pro12 a week later.

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