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Ireland injury woes compounded before Six Nations with Leinster update
By Josh Raisey
Fresh from the news that Connacht winger Mack Hansen will miss the Guinness Six Nations with a dislocated shoulder, Leinster have added to Ireland's injury problems on the wing by confirming Jimmy O'Brien will be out for a "number of months" with a neck injury.
The 27-year-old picked up the injury in Leinster's loss to Ulster on New Year's Day, and the United Rugby Championship leaders today confirmed the severity of the injury ahead of their Investec Champions Cup clash against Stade Francais on Saturday.
James Ryan has also been flagged as an injury concern for Andy Farrell, after he was withdrawn before the contest with Ulster. That does not appear to be as serious though, as Leinster have confirmed that he was withdrawn as a precaution, and will be assessed later this week to see if he can play against the Parisian outfit.
With Keith Earl also having retired at the end of the World Cup, three of Ireland's wingers that went to France in 2023 are now unavailable for the Six Nations.
Farrell is set to name his squad next week for their Six Nations title defence, but he has already been dealt two damaging blows on the wing.
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Latest Comments
It’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
Go to commentsDon’t pay a blind bit of notice to Lukie… he likes the sound of his own voice and is always looking for something controversial to say. He has been banging on about Leinster's defensive system all season like he knows something Jacques Nienebar doesn’t. Which is the reason why he didn’t apply for the job obviously
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