LEINSTER SAY TADHG Furlong will be sidelined for “a number of weeks” after sustaining a calf injury.
The Ireland tighthead prop has yet to play since the restart of rugby due to a back injury but having recovered from that issue, he has now sustained what Leinster describe as a “minor calf injury.”
It will come as a real frustration for Furlong, while Ireland boss Andy Farrell will hope the Wexford man overcomes this new issue without any setbacks given that the 2020 Six Nations restarts in just four weekends’ time.
27-year-old Furlong, who is part of Ireland’s leadership group, last played a game back in February, when Farrell’s men were beaten by England in Twickenham.
Meanwhile, Leinster have confirmed that Dan Leavy’s eagerly-anticipated return from a long-term knee injury will not come in Friday’s 2020/21 Guinness Pro14 opener against the Dragons at the RDS.
Leavy’s “training load is being managed this week following his return from a knee injury,” according to Leinster.
Centre Robbie Henshaw has been passed fit for the Dragons game after coming through the return-to-play protocols following a head injury assessment in the defeat to Saracens in the Champions Cup two weekends ago.
Dan Sheehan [cheekbone], Vakh Abdaladze [back], Dave Kearney [hamstring], Conor O’Brien [hamstring] and Adam Byrne [hamstring] all remain sidelined.