NIAMH BRIGGS HAS been dealt another extraordinarily cruel injury blow after the Munster and Ireland legend was last night forced to undergo surgery in Dublin.

The 34-year-old, who has battled back from hamstring and Achilles lay-offs in recent years, sustained a serious leg injury during Munster’s opening women’s inter-pro game against Ulster last Saturday.

Briggs started at fullback for the southern province at Musgrave Park but, in yet another setback for the former Ireland captain, was stretchered off in the second half of Munster’s 38-12 victory.

Head coach Laura Guest hoped the injury wasn’t as bad as first feared but Briggs went under the knife on Tuesday and is now facing another long road to recovery after a difficult couple of years.

A severe hamstring problem and then an Achilles injury on the eve of the home World Cup in 2017 ended Briggs’ hopes of leading Ireland out at that tournament, while she had been overlooked by Adam Griggs for this year’s Six Nations despite working hard to regain her form and fitness with Munster and UL Bohs.

Briggs has spoken of her devastation after coming through ‘probably the best pre-season’ of her career before injury cruelly struck on Saturday.

The loss of a player of Briggs’ calibre and experience is also a blow to Munster’s chances of reclaiming the inter-pro title from Leinster this term, with Guest’s side travelling to Galway to face Connacht this Saturday.

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