Hamstring Injury Rules O’Halloran Out For ‘A Number Of Weeks’
Connacht overcame two early injury setbacks to defeat the Ospreys at the Sportsground last Friday, but Tiernan O’Halloran (hamstring) and lock Andrew Browne (shoulder) are both set to miss the next number of weeks.
A bulletin issued by the Connacht medical team confirmed that full-back Tiernan O’Halloran sustained a hamstring injury in the opening minutes against the Ospreys and will be out of action for a number of weeks.
Luckless second row Andrew Browne, who had only just returned after a long lay-off with an Achilles injury, damaged his shoulder during the round 14 game and had to be replaced after a quarter of an hour. He will be out of action for four to six weeks.
While Browne could be back in time for Connacht’s Challenge Cup quarter-final clash with Gloucester on Saturday, March 31, it will be a case of ‘wait and see’ with O’Halloran’s injury according to Connacht defence coach Peter Wilkins.
“In the passage of play where Tiernan chased down the far sideline, he felt a little pop in the hamstring. We brought him off straight away and he received treatment for that,” explained Wilkins. “He will be a few weeks but he is desperate to get back out there as quickly as possible.
“We will get him through this initial period of rehab and then make a clearer assessment on when he might be available. It’s always a blow because he is a quality player. But we are happy with the depth that we have got in that area as well.
“It’s exciting to know that the European quarter-final against Gloucester is in on the horizon (next month), but in terms of Tiernan’s injury, it depends how he responds in this first week or two and we will see.”
In more positive news, Niyi Adeolokun and Jarrad Butler have both returned to team training following their respective hamstring and hand injuries. Denis Buckley, who is recovering from ankle surgery, will return to training in the coming weeks, while fellow prop JP Cooney (hamstring surgery) is ruled out until April.
Jake Heenan also has an April return date as he continues his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery, hooker Pat O’Toole is on a rehab programme for his hamstring injury, and Eoin McKeon, who is rehabbing a calf injury, is progressing well and will return to team training in the coming weeks along with centre Peter Robb (hamstring).
Tickets for Connacht v Zebre at the Sportsground on Friday night are available to buy online here.