Ruddock To See Surgeon Over Hamstring Injury

Speaking to the media at Leinster Rugby HQ on Monday afternoon, the province’s scrum coach John Fogarty confirmed that Rhys Ruddock suffered a hamstring injury in the second half against Exeter Chiefs and will see a surgeon later this week.

“Initial reports aren’t great,” admitted John Fogarty, speaking about Rhys Ruddock’s injury as Leinster begin preparations for their Aviva Stadium date with Exeter. “He’s not going to be involved this week, or the next week, or the next week.

“Rhys is going to see a specialist, which isn’t a good sign either, a little bit later this week, and the timeframe of the injury will become clearer then.”

There was positive news as Robbie Henshaw and James Ryan came through the 18-8 8 success at Sandy Park with no issues on their returns from injury. Jonathan Sexton took a bang to his quad and will return to training on Wednesday.

Adam Byrne, who has been suffering from knee pain since his return from Ireland camp and has not been able to train fully, is due to return to training this week. Ross Molony will also return to on-field training this week after recovering from a knee injury and will be assessed as the week goes on.

It was also confirmed that Kiwi winger James Lowe has been registered in the Leinster Champions Cup squad ahead of this Saturday’s round 4 rematch with Exeter (kick-off 3.15pm) – tickets are available to buy online here. The injured Ruddock has been de-registered.

Meanwhile, Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster is not getting too carried away with the result from last Sunday as the Aviva Premiership champions are sure to get Leo Cullen’s men an even stiffer test at the home of Irish Rugby.

“Things can change very quickly,” warned Lancaster, speaking at the Bank of Ireland Leinster Schools Cup draws on Monday night. “One of my messages to the Leinster boys this week is, and I wasn’t here at the time, but I remember watching Leinster beat Northampton at Northampton and then losing at the Aviva the following week, so a lot can happen in a week.

“I’m reasonably objective really, because I know what it takes to win at the highest level, and I’ve been involved in games where we’ve won at the highest level, and been involved in teams that have lost.

“So, to win the European Cup, to win in our pool, we will be playing at the top end of European rugby, which is not far off international rugby. We’re three games into a six-game league, which then only gets you to a quarter-final.”