Cullen Blow For Munster

Munster full-back Christian Cullen will miss the province’s Heineken Cup quarter-final with Biarritz next month, after an MRI scan revealed ligament damage in his left shoulder.

The 58-times capped All-Black was taken off after 37 minutes of Munster’s 30-20 Celtic League loss to Cardiff on Saturday, and yesterday’s examination backed up coach Alan Gaffney’s worse fears.

With Cullen facing 4-6 months on the sidelines, and the ERC deadline for registering additional players for the Heineken Cup’s knock-out stages this Thursday, Gaffney admitted: “Obviously we have been exploring that situation over the past while. Now we have to re-visit the issue with a different midset in light of the injury to Christian. We have until Thursday to nominate and we will be making no decision until then.”

The soon-to-be-departed Australian – who signed Cullen back in 2003 – added: “It is of course terribly disappointing to lose a quality player like Christian and I don’t suppose it could have come at a worse time with the concluding stages of the Celtic competitions and the Heineken Cup upon us.

“It’s particularly tough on him however and I can only wish him well in his recovery.”