Leinster Prepare For Opening Clash With Ospreys

The Leinster squad trained at UCD on Monday afternoon ahead of their RaboDirect PRO12 opener against the Ospreys in Swansea on Friday.

Isa Nacewa, Eoin O’Malley and Richardt Strauss are expected to be available for selection ahead of Leinster’s trip to the Liberty Stadium this weekend.

O’Malley was a late withdrawal from the starting line-up for the Bank of Ireland Series clash with Northampton Saints last Friday due to illness.

Following scans at the weekend, Eamonn Sheridan’s knee injury is worse than first thought. Ligament damage is likely to rule him out until the New Year.

Steven Sykes suffered a medial ligament injury which is expected to rule him out for the opening two to three weeks of the campaign, while Andrew Conway damaged his ankle which will keep him out of Friday night’s game in Wales.

Shane Jennings’ call-up to the Ireland Rugby World Cup squad means that there will be 14 Leinster representatives on duty in New Zealand including Isaac Boss and debutant Sean Cronin, who both featured against Northampton at Donnybrook.

David Kearney successfully came through his first game of the season, while the squad to take on the Ospreys will also include Fionn Carr, who scored his first competitive try on Friday since his return to the province this summer.

Other Leinster Academy graduates in the mix are Jamie Hagan, Rhys Ruddock and Dominic Ryan. The team and replacements will be announced on Thursday afternoon.