Injured Fitzgerald Facing Surgery
Leinster and Ireland winger Luke Fitzgerald is set to be sidelined for four to six months after it was confirmed that he sustained a ruptured lateral collateral ligament in his left knee during Sunday’s GUINNESS Series Test against Australia.
The Ireland squad transferred to their Killiney base today ahead of their second game in the GUINNESS Series against Fiji at the RDS next Saturday (kick-ooff 5.15pm).
The six-day turnaround will mean a truncated preparation for the Ireland set-up and 14 players have been added to the squad for this week.
This includes several players who were involved in the Ireland ‘A’ win over Tonga such as Andrew Trimble, Shane Horgan and Brett Wilkinson.
One player who has been forced to withdraw from the squad is Luke Fitzgerald, who suffered a significant injury in an awkward collision and was replaced during the second half against Australia.
Following medical review and scans of his left knee, it has been confirmed that Fitzgerald sustained a ruptured lateral collateral ligament that will require surgical repair and intensive post operative rehabilitation.
The talented winger, who toured South Africa with the Lions in the summer, will miss Ireland’s remaining autumn Tests and the defence of their RBS 6 Nations title in the spring.
He is scheduled for surgery at the Sports Surgery Clinic on Tuesday, with a projected recovery period of four to six months.
The Ireland squad will train tomorrow (Tuesday) and the team and replacements to face Fiji will be announced at 1.15pm at the team hotel.
The following players have been added to the extended Ireland squad for the Fiji match, joining the available players from the 22-man squad selected for the Australian game:
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
John Fogarty (De La Salle Palmerston/Leinster)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster)
Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Kevin McLaughlin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Peter Stringer (Cork Constitution/Munster)