Dempsey: Josh Is Progressing Well

It was mostly positive news on the injury front for the province with only Peadar Timmins a concern following the bonus point victory away to the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Young back rower Timmins went off the pitch early for a head injury assessment against the Dragons and did not return. The Wicklow man will, as a result, enter the return-to-play protocols and will be assessed as the week goes on.

Fergus McFadden, Rhys Ruddock and Noel Reid all came through the game at Rodney Parade with no issues having returned from various injuries.

In other injury news, Rory O’Loughlin will be assessed again this week for an AC shoulder injury picked up during the win against Edinburgh and while Tom Daly has stepped up his rehabilitation programme from a knee injury, he will be unavailable for selection.

There was no update on Josh van der Flier (shoulder), Isa Nacewa (knee), Dominic Ryan (knee), Dave Kearney (toe), Sean Cronin (hamstring) and Jordi Murphy (ACL) who are all unavailable for selection.

However, Girvan Dempsey did say that van der Flier is ‘progressing well’ with his recovery and could be back sooner than initially expected. 

“Josh has just got an AC shoulder issue and hopefully he won’t be out for that long. It’s progressed well this week so we’ll monitor him throughout the week and see how he goes. He’s gone really well, so it won’t be too long,” said Dempsey.

“Potentially (he could be back in the mix for the England game on March 18), but it depends how he comes through the rehab and stuff like that. I spoke to him this morning (Monday) and he’s really happy with how he’s gone, his shoulder feels good. I’d say he’s potentially targeting that game against England as well.”

Tickets for Leinster v Scarlets are still on sale here and will be on sale again from the ticket office on Saturday at the Anglesea Road ticket office from 6pm.