Connacht Centres To Miss Rest Of Season
The Connacht squad trained in Galway on Monday, building towards their upcoming RaboDirect PRO12 derby match against leaders Ulster.
During Connacht’s 32-24 victory over Edinburgh in the previous round, centre Eoin Griffin was forced to come off following a knock to the head. He suffered a mild concussion but doctors are confident that he will be fit for next Friday’s game against Ulster.
While there are a number of players on the long-term injury list, it is hoped that hooker Jason Harris-Wright (calf) and flanker Willie Faloon (ankle) will make it back for either the rearranged match against Benetton Treviso or the last game of the season against Glasgow Warriors.
Both players are likely to miss this week’s derby clash along with Faloon’s back row colleague Eoin McKeon who is still struggling with bruised rib cartilage.
Nathan White, who missed out on the Murrayfield win, is set to see a specialist this Friday for a damaged knee. Fellow prop Denis Buckley has also been ruled out of the game against Ulster due to a medial knee ligament injury.
Meanwhile, David McSharry underwent surgery on a troublesome hip and groin injury on Monday and will miss the westerners’ remaining three games of the season.
The recovery period will rule him out of contention for Ireland’s summer tour to the USA and Canada, as Connacht head coach Eric Elwood confirmed.
“Dave is out of the summer tour and is facing four to six months before he is back,” said Elwood. “It’s disappointing for him but the most important thing is for him to make a full recovery and build from there.”
McSharry joins fellow centre Kyle Tonetti on the sidelines. Tonetti had ankle surgery last week and will be out of action for the rest of the campaign.