IRELAND INTERNATIONAL WILL Connors is set to return to training this week after more than eight months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Connors’ season was cut short when he injured his knee in an innocuous training ground incident ahead of Ireland’s Six Nations victory over England in March.
The 25-year-old subsequently went under the knife for surgery but now he is finally ready to return to action, adding even more depth to Leinster’s ferociously competitive back row.
There was further good news on the injury front with prop Thomas Clarkson (hamstring) now back in full training after lining out for Dublin University in the All-Ireland League last weekend.
Of Leo Cullen’s returning Irish internationals, both Jack Conan and James Ryan are unavailable for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship interpro against Ulster at the RDS.
Conan was late withdrawal from Ireland’s starting XV against Argentina with a quad injury which will be further reviewed by the Leinster medical team this week, while Ryan — who captained Ireland until he was forced off at half time by a head injury assessment — has started his graduated return to play protocols.
Jamison Gibson-Park will be assessed again this week on the thigh injury which ruled him out of Sunday’s 53-7 win while the timeline for Johnny Sexton’s return to action remains the same at 3-5 weeks.
Leinster also confirmed that Conor O’Brien will be unavailable “for a number of months” after injuring his hamstring in last week’s ‘A’ game against Ulster, while Dave Kearney — who suffered a back injury in the same game — will miss “a few weeks”.
– Updated 22.11: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Leinster play Ulster in the United Rugby Championship on Friday; the game is on Saturday.
