LEINSTER HAVE BEEN dealt a blow ahead of their Champions Cup quarter-final against Wasps in eight days’ time, with Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney ruled out.
Both players have undergone what the province calls “minor procedures” on injuries and they will now miss the next few weeks of action.
Heaslip watched Ireland’s win over England from the sidelines. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
Heaslip was named to start Ireland’s win over England in the Six Nations last weekend, but pulled out at a late stage after suffering an injury during the warm-up.
Heaslip’s injury was initially described by Ireland as a “rolled ankle,” before head coach Joe Schmidt later clarified that the number eight had suffered a strain in his upper hamstring during the warm-up.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen today confirmed that Heaslip is now sidelined after receiving treatment on a disc issue in his lower back.
“It’s hard to be definitive with timelines,” said Cullen, when asked about the expected recovery timeframe. ”Jamie just had a procedure done with his back this morning. He had a disc issue, so they come on quite quickly.
“He saw a specialist, saw someone again yesterday and had a procedure done this morning. So that rules him out for the next number of weeks. When we get a report we’ll find out exactly how long that will be, but it sounds like they’re reasonably standard procedures.”
The timeframe is a little clearer in Kearney’s case, with Cullen penciling the fullback in to return in four to six weeks after surgery on his knee.
“We’ve just been managing him,” said Cullen. “He had seen a few different people, had a procedure during the week after seeing a specialist on Tuesday, I think. That’s probably four to six weeks for his knee, so we’ll see how he comes through that.”