Leinster, Ireland and Lions winger Denis Hickie has been ruled out of the first two rounds of the Heineken Cup as well as Ireland’s autumn Tests next month.
Hickie scoring against Ulster in the Celtic League
Leinster, Ireland and Lions winger Denis Hickie has been ruled out of the first two rounds of the Heineken Cup as well as Ireland’s autumn Tests next month.
Hickie suffered a dislocated right fibula following an accident in a routine training drill on Monday evening in Old Belvedere RFC. He underwent surgery in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin on Monday evening and is now recovering at home.
Hickie was training with the province ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Cup Pool 5 opener against Bath at the RDS.
It is a big blow for the 29-year-old Hickie as the injury has happened so close to key dates at both club and international level. But as he proved when he came back from a serious Achilles injury sustained during the 2003 World Cup, his powers of recovery should hopefully see him back soon.
The loss of Hickie robs both his club and country of a major attacking threat, as the St. Mary’s College man was hitting top form. On a personal level, the opportunity to face the All Blacks following his involvement with the British and Irish Lions tour was something that the player would have been looking forward to.
Ireland are already certain to be without team captain Brian O’Driscoll (dislocated shoulder) for next month’s Lansdowne Road internationals against New Zealand, Australia and Romania.
Munster duo Paul O’Connell (fractured thumb) and Peter Stringer (knee strain) are fighting a race against time to be fit, while Leinster scrum half Guy Easterby (broken jaw) is likely to be sidelined until December.
Meanwhile, Leinster will also be without their first choice fly half Christian Warner for the Bath tie and their October 30 visit to Glasgow. The Australian suffered a knee ligament injury in the 34-15 Celtic League victory over the Cardiff Blues last Saturday.
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