MUNSTER WILL HAVE to plan without Peter O’Mahony for Sunday’s Heineken Cup game against the Scarlets in Thomond Park.
The big back-row has been ruled out of action for the next two weeks with a hairline fracture to his jaw which he picked up during the 17-14 win in Parc y Scarlets.
O’Mahony was replaced by Denis Leamy at half-time last weekend and an x-ray yesterday revealed the full extent of the damage.
A win for Munster on Sunday would see them stretch their two-point advantage at the top of Pool 1, putting them in the driving seat to qualify for the knockout stages.
And the province received a timely boost yesterday with the news that Keith Earls’ recovery from a knee injury is on track.
The winger was stretchered off in the Pro12 defeat against Leinster last month but is set to resume full training this week and could feature in Tony McGahan’s matchday 22 for the weekend.
Peter Borlase (back), Dave O’Callaghan (knee) and Sean Scanlon (neck) all returned from injury in the British & Irish Cup win over Ayr, while Ivan Dineen (knee) also returns to training this week.
