Connacht Scrum Half Murphy Undergoes Surgery On ‘Nasty’ Finger Injury
Ben Murphy was in try-scoring form for Connacht during their home win over Cardiff in the last round of the BKT United Rugby Championship ©INPHO/James Crombie
Connacht scrum half Ben Murphy could be sidelined for up to six weeks following surgery on the fractured finger that prevented him from making his Ireland ‘A’ debut last Sunday afternoon.
Murphy was due to be involved in the clash with England ‘A’ in Bristol, but injured his little finger in training with Ireland ‘A’ and underwent surgery on it earlier today.
Connacht have also added Sean Jansen to their injury list after he sustained an ankle injury during the Ireland ‘A’ fixture, while Byron Ralston damaged his knee during the province’s friendly match at Harlequins last week and could be a ‘longer-term’ absentee than Murphy.
Commenting on the outlook for both Murphy and Ralston, Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins said: “Ben’s little finger got caught in contact and it was a nasty break. He’s had surgery on it this morning.
“The update is that was successful but I think it was a bit of a complicated one to fix up, so I imagine we won’t see him for the next five or six weeks.
“Byron could be longer term, we’re waiting for the scan in the next 48 hours. He’s hobbling around on crutches and definitely won’t be involved for a period.”
Connacht resume their BKT United Rugby Championship campaign against Benetton Rugby at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 7.35pm), eager to build on their recent bonus point win at home to Cardiff. Tickets are available to buy online here.
Lying three points outside the top eight, the 11th-placed westerners have lost only one of their last six matches against Italian opposition in the league, but Benetton, who sit in seventh spot, won 34-19 at Ulster last time out.
Club captain Cian Prendergast is back training with Connacht after missing out on playing for Ireland against Wales through illness. An appearance off the bench in Cardiff would have seen him make his Guinness Men’s Six Nations debut alongside younger brother Sam.
“Cian’s back with us currently, he’s trained with us,” explained Wilkins. “He was back in with us yesterday and trained fully this morning so he’s available for selection, which is good news for us.
“On the back of his disappointment with the illness and missing out on his bench spot (with Ireland) at the weekend, he’s champing at the bit.
“He’s determined at the best of times, but I think (he’s) channelling that disappointment hopefully into a big performance for us.”
Jack Aungier, Shayne Bolton, Darragh Murray, and Hugh Gavin are in the mix too this week, fresh from starting for the Ireland ‘A’ team. Bolton and Gavin were try scorers in a 28-12 defeat to England ‘A’.
Connacht’s latest squad bulletin also confirmed that hooker Eoin de Buitléar (thumb) has successfully undergone surgery and will be unavailable until April. There is no update on Sean O’Brien (hamstring).
With a URC home record this season of three wins and three defeats, Wilkins added: “There is a pressure because we’re left ourselves with this work to do at this stage of the season, but there’s also a massive opportunity.
“If we do manage to take the maximum from this game then we put ourselves in a position, all of a sudden, going into the run-in, we’re in the top eight in the URC and top seeds in the Challenge Cup.
“With that the whole narrative around the team changes very quickly, but equally we’ve got to do the business (on Saturday night). There’s a lot at stake.”