Mixed Injury News For Connacht As Aki Returns But Hansen Ruled Out
Mack Hansen is pictured during a Connacht training session at Dexcom Stadium last month ©INPHO/James Crombie
Mack Hansen will miss the concluding rounds of the BKT United Rugby Championship regular season due to an ankle injury, following a squad update issued by Connacht Rugby today.
Ahead of their URC round 17 match at home to Edinburgh on Saturday, Connacht revealed that Hansen is set to be sidelined for ‘approximately five weeks’.
That means he is ruled out of the Edinburgh game, and Connacht’s final round trip to Parma next week to play Zebre. As a contender to make the British & Irish Lions squad, it will hopefully not impact his potential selection for the tour to Australia.
The Ireland winger was ever-present during last November’s Autumn Nations Series, and started against England, Wales, and Italy during the Guinness Men’s Six Nations. Hamstring and quad injuries kept him out of the Scotland and France fixtures.
He committed his future to Ireland and Connacht Rugby in March by signing a new two-year contract, and played for the westerners against Munster, Cardiff, and Racing 92 most recently, before the setback with his ankle saw him miss the province’s tour to South Africa.
Meanwhile, in a week during which Connacht got to train on the indoor pitch at their new High Performance Centre, there was good and bad news regarding player availability for the must-win encounters with Edinburgh and Zebre.
The Cian Prendergast-captained side are 14th in the URC table, trailing eighth-placed Benetton by six points. Whatever happens in the shake-up for the play-offs, they will want to close out their campaign in winning fashion after losing their last four URC games.
In a timely boost, Bundee Aki (heel), Caolin Blade (ankle), and Denis Buckley (quad) are all available for selection having missed the trip to South Africa, while Sean O’Brien, a long-term absentee due to hamstring surgery, is also available.
Sean Jansen (head) continues to follow the graduated return-to-play protocols after his HIA removal against the Emirates Lions. A decision on him and Shamus Hurley-Langton (wrist) will be made later in the week.
Confirmed as unavailable for rounds 17 and 18 of the URC are ankle injury victim Hansen, Colm Reilly (knee), Shane Jennings (shoulder), Byron Ralston (knee), and Josh Ioane (hand).
Scrum half Reilly unfortunately suffered a dislocated kneecap during the 26-7 defeat to the Lions last time out, and is facing a lay-off of eight to ten weeks.
Jennings, the scorer of two tries against the DHL Stormers last month, will have a 12-week rehab period following surgery on the shoulder he dislocated against the Lions in Johannesburg.
Both Ralston and Ioane continue to work towards availability for pre-season. Ralston has been out of action since February’s friendly against Harlequins, while Ioane fractured his hand during the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final loss to Racing.