MUNSTER ARE HOPEFUL that Jack Crowley, Jean Kleyn, and Michael Milne could all be available for Saturday’s important Champions Cup clash with Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Out-half Crowley missed last weekend’s defeat to Bath after suffering an ankle injury, second row Kleyn was ruled out due to personal reasons, and Milne withdrew during the warm-up because of a knee issue.
JJ Hanrahan stepped up at number 10 in Crowley’s absence, but it would be an obvious boost for Munster to have their star out-half back for the Gloucester clash.
Senior coach Mike Prendergast said Crowley is back training.
“He trained today, he was out there,” said Prendergast.
“He participated in certain parts of it and he looked quite good. So hopefully he’ll be good.
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“In saying that, I thought JJ ran an outstanding game last week, which was great to happen, and even Tony [Butler] before that has pitched up very well.
“But Jack, hopefully, will come into the mix. It’s not guaranteed, we’ll know more towards the end of the week, but the signs are quite positive.”
Kleyn is also back training with Munster after missing last weekend’s game in Bath. The South African second row was initially named in the starting XV but withdrew on Friday.
“Jean hopefully will be good to go,” said Prendergast. “Again, not 100% sure.
“We’ll have all that guaranteed on Thursday, but the signs are looking positive.”
Milne pulled out of the Bath game at a late stage, with Jeremy Loughman starting at loosehead and Josh Wycherley coming onto the bench.
But Munster also hope to have Milne in action on Saturday in Cork.
“Hopefully, he’ll be good to go,” said Prendergast. “He probably needs just a small bit more time or more clarity in and around that.”
It seems less likely that Fineen Wycherley will feature against Gloucester, having suffered a finger injury when he came off the bench in the defeat to Bath.
However, the lock hasn’t been ruled out just yet.
“Fineen is still in with a shout,” said Prendergast. “Probably not as confident as maybe the other two boys, but he’s not ruled out at the moment. It’s more of a kind of infection thing. So hopefully we’ll be good to go.”
Munster trained in tough conditions in Limerick today as Storm Bram hit Ireland, but Prendergast said the coaching staff were pleased with the session.
Munster have sold 35,000 tickets for the game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, meaning it will be the biggest-ever home crowd for the province in Munster, although they hope to shift more tickets ahead of Saturday.
“It was horrific,” said Prendergast of the weather today.
“We ended up having a – not a bad thing after the weekend – it was a bit of an old-school kind of session. You couldn’t do anything in it. It was a bit of one-out, everyone banging off each other. Not a bad thing after the weekend, I suppose.”
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Crowley and Kleyn part of Munster's 'old-school' session in Limerick
MUNSTER ARE HOPEFUL that Jack Crowley, Jean Kleyn, and Michael Milne could all be available for Saturday’s important Champions Cup clash with Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Out-half Crowley missed last weekend’s defeat to Bath after suffering an ankle injury, second row Kleyn was ruled out due to personal reasons, and Milne withdrew during the warm-up because of a knee issue.
JJ Hanrahan stepped up at number 10 in Crowley’s absence, but it would be an obvious boost for Munster to have their star out-half back for the Gloucester clash.
Senior coach Mike Prendergast said Crowley is back training.
“He trained today, he was out there,” said Prendergast.
“He participated in certain parts of it and he looked quite good. So hopefully he’ll be good.
“In saying that, I thought JJ ran an outstanding game last week, which was great to happen, and even Tony [Butler] before that has pitched up very well.
“But Jack, hopefully, will come into the mix. It’s not guaranteed, we’ll know more towards the end of the week, but the signs are quite positive.”
Kleyn is also back training with Munster after missing last weekend’s game in Bath. The South African second row was initially named in the starting XV but withdrew on Friday.
“Jean hopefully will be good to go,” said Prendergast. “Again, not 100% sure.
“We’ll have all that guaranteed on Thursday, but the signs are looking positive.”
Milne pulled out of the Bath game at a late stage, with Jeremy Loughman starting at loosehead and Josh Wycherley coming onto the bench.
But Munster also hope to have Milne in action on Saturday in Cork.
“Hopefully, he’ll be good to go,” said Prendergast. “He probably needs just a small bit more time or more clarity in and around that.”
It seems less likely that Fineen Wycherley will feature against Gloucester, having suffered a finger injury when he came off the bench in the defeat to Bath.
However, the lock hasn’t been ruled out just yet.
“Fineen is still in with a shout,” said Prendergast. “Probably not as confident as maybe the other two boys, but he’s not ruled out at the moment. It’s more of a kind of infection thing. So hopefully we’ll be good to go.”
Munster trained in tough conditions in Limerick today as Storm Bram hit Ireland, but Prendergast said the coaching staff were pleased with the session.
Munster have sold 35,000 tickets for the game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, meaning it will be the biggest-ever home crowd for the province in Munster, although they hope to shift more tickets ahead of Saturday.
“It was horrific,” said Prendergast of the weather today.
“We ended up having a – not a bad thing after the weekend – it was a bit of an old-school kind of session. You couldn’t do anything in it. It was a bit of one-out, everyone banging off each other. Not a bad thing after the weekend, I suppose.”
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jack crowley Jean Kleyn michael milne Munster Update