Howlett And Jones To Return In March

The relative quiet time offered by the onset of the RBS 6 Nations has afforded Munster the opportunity to work on running repairs to their players.

To that end, Munster captain Doug Howlett and back-three colleague Felix Jones both successfully underwent minor knee scopes last week.

Although the pair are set to miss Munster’s upcoming RaboDirect PRO12 matches in February, they will be back in action in March.

Prop Stephen Archer limped out of the Musgrave Park match against the Cardiff Blues with a dead leg. As a result, he missed the Heineken Cup round 5 and 6 ties is expected back training next week though doubtful for the Edinburgh game.

Centre James Downey (rib cartilage) is also well on the road to recovery but like Archer, he may find that the Edinburgh game on Saturday week comes a little too soon for him.

Sean Scanlon (back) and Barry O’Mahony (groin) are expected to resume training in three to four weeks’ time, while Niall Ronan and Luke O’Dea should both be involved in limited training next week and are hopeful of a return to action sometime in February.

Danny Barnes, who bruised ribs in the British & Irish Cup win over Plymouth Albion a fortnight ago, is on the easy list this week.

David O’Callaghan (knee), who was injured in the same game, will have his progress monitored on a weekly basis before a decision on his return is made.