MUNSTER FORWARDS COACH Andi Kyriacou says they will give their injured players, including internationals Tadhg Beirne and Craig Casey, as much time as possible to be fit for Saturday’s URC showdown with Leinster at Aviva Stadium.
The Irish pair, both of whom picked up groin injuries, are among four Munster players heading for scans today and Andy Farrell will be keeping a close eye on the outcome.
Tighthead Stephen Archer, who has an ankle injury, and promising 19-year old academy lock Edwin Edogbo, who has a calf problem, are also going for scans, while Emerging Ireland winger Calvin Nash is being monitored for a thigh injury and prop Roman Salanoa is undergo the return to play protocols after suffering a head injury in the final play of the 31-17 win over the Bulls on Saturday.
“That’s the beauty of going Saturday to Saturday, we get that extra day’s work and time for lads to recover. Our medical team is doing a hell of a job trying to get these lads patched up,” said Kyriacou.
“We’ll see, we will make some decisions on Thursday. We will keep our cards close to our chest on that one and just give the lads as much time as possible so we can get them out on the field.”
Meanwhile, new signing Antoine Frisch is being managed for a calf injury suffered on the Emerging Ireland tour and will continue to rehab with the medical department, while academy player Patrick Campbell has recovered from illness and will return to training this week.
Kyriacou said they know what awaits them in Aviva Stadium but they are looking forward to the challenge against their arch rivals.
“It’s massively exciting to go up to Dublin and I’m sure they will go pretty big in terms of selection. It’s a great challenge for us to see where we are at, coming off that physical encounter last week and how well we did in certain areas.
“We just want to keep growing our performances and just transferring the work we are doing, and being consistent in what we are doing, that’s what we are striving for with our performances on the field.
“In terms of the Bulls performance, it was really encouraging to see the good work we are doing in training starts materialising and transferring into match performance. We see the way we are carrying our collisions are pivotal to the way we play.
“It creates so many opportunities for us. I believe from reviewing the game there are a lot more chances out there for us to take. It was a positive performance but there is still more to come,” he added.
