ULSTER RUGBY HAVE confirmed that Ben Moxham has suffered a cruciate ligament knee injury and is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The 23-year-old sustained an ACL tear of his right knee in the recent URC defeat to Leinster, and will undergo surgery next week.
Moxham’s “estimated return to play time is nine months,” Ulster added in a squad update ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup clash with Bordeaux Bègles.
Meanwhile, John Cooney has resumed team training after a hamstring injury kept him out of last weekend’s heavy defeat to Toulouse.
Cooney’s fitness will be monitored over the coming days, as will that of Stewart Moore and Ben Carson after both suffering “soft tissue contusions” against Toulouse.
A selection call will then be made on the trio ahead of Saturday’s game at Kingspan Stadium.
Robert Baloucoune (calf), Jake Flannery (ankle), Jacob Stockdale (hamstring), Ethan McIlroy (ankle), Sean Reffell (ankle), James Hume (knee), Callum Reid (knee) and Tom Stewart (ankle) are unavailable for selection for the Bordeaux Bègles fixture.
- Updated 4.35pm to amend typo in headline
No wonder Ulster are struggling with an injury list like that! Don’t have the depth so can’t afford frontlines to out. Sorry for Moxham – just back after a similar injury with the other knee and a lengthy absence.
@Keno: Indeed. Down to the bare bones in the backs. Had the numbers to rotate the pack last week albeit not, of course, the quality. Stockdale’s injury was particularly sickening. Superb for five matches, gets rested for the capitulation in Cardiff and does his hamstring during his annual Ireland appearance….
@Justin Robinson: Is Flannery injured?
@Thesaltyurchin: Yeah he had a nasty finger injury initially. Got back to play AIL but seemed to do his ankle immediately. Not sure when he’s likely to be fit. The UAFC forum appears to have deceased so sources of info are limited at the moment.
@Justin Robinson: was wondering what happened UAFC thought it was my browser or something. For Flannery, Jack Murphy did well on the time he played on EI tour and deserved more gametime, expect they wanted Prendergast to get as many mins as possible, but he should be due some in URC, James Humphreys for not being well regarded has shownnup better than I expected, be difficult to know where Flannery will be in pecking order when returns.
@Kingshu: JH does seem to have a nice pass on him. V poor attempt to kick to the corner at the death against Leinster though. Flannery can’t seem to stay fit but Morgan looks about five years away from his best rugby at the moment. I heard Cunningham (unwisely) saying he was surprised how many 10s were available when they got around to looking towards the end of last season. I dunno if going for the cheapest option was necessarily the right decision. It rarely is.
@Kingshu: Hopefully he applies pressure and catches a run of games, would like to see him do well, was impressed with Humphries, if he can take a few knocks Ulster could have a battle at 10, but clever, do you lads think Doak should move out or no?
This is a period of rebuilding for Ulster and maybe giving opportunities to youngsters now will help in the long run. I was delighted we qualified for the Champions Cup for the money rather than any hope of silverware. Looking forward to a big shift from the lads at the weekend.
@Rab McCracken: best case scenario is to go to challenge cup
Boxham?
@Cian Halley: Yes it is still there in the headline – Boxham
Here’s the latest from Ulster Rugby: The Ulster Rugby Performance Medicine Team have issued a squad update ahead of the province’s Investec Champions Cup Round 2 fixture against Union Bordeaux Bègles.
It has been confirmed that Ben Moxham suffered an ACL tear of his right knee in the recent URC defeat to Leinster. He will have surgery next week, and his estimated return to play time is 9 months.
John Cooney (hamstring) has resumed team training and his fitness for selection will be monitored over the coming days.
Stewart Moore and Ben Carson both suffered soft tissue contusions in Sunday’s EPCR defeat at Toulouse, and they too will have their fitness for selection monitored through training this week.
Also currently unfit for selection are Robert Baloucoune (calf), Jake Flannery (ankle), Jacob Stockdale (hamstring), Ethan McIlroy (ankle), Sean Reffell (ankle), James Hume (knee), Callum Reid (knee) and Tom Stewart (ankle).