Ireland spared more injury misery before Six Nations after concerns

Munster have downplayed the severity of the shoulder injury to scrum-half Craig Casey, who is in contention to feature in their crunch Investec Champions Cup pool stage match against Castres on Saturday.

The Ireland international left the field in the final 10 minutes of Munster’s loss to Toulon at the Stade Mayol on Sunday, and was seen with his left arm in a makeshift sling after the match. Head coach Clayton McMillan only intensified any concerns with his post-match comments.

However, Munster’s latest injury bulletin paints a different picture, saying the 26-year-old is currently being assessed, with his participation at Thomond Park to be determined later in the week, suggesting the injury is not as bad as first feared.

This is, firstly, a boost for Munster, who are effectively in a straight shootout with Castres to sneak into the Champions Cup play-offs, though either side’s qualification will still be contingent on the result of Gloucester’s clash with Toulon at Kingsholm later on Saturday.

This is also a boost for Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, who would have been fearing the worst after the match in Toulon. Ireland have already witnessed a trickle of injuries leading up to the Six Nations, with loosehead props hit particularly hard, but it looks as though Casey will be available to challenge Jamison Gibson-Park for the green No.9 jersey.

Fixture

Investec Champions Cup

Munster

29 - 31

Full-time

Castres

All Stats and Data

Elsewhere in the Munster squad, Diarmuid Barron finds himself in a similar position to Casey after picking up a knee injury on the Cote d’Azur, but tryscorer Calvin Nash has been ruled out with a shoulder/head injury.

Nash will join Paddy Patterson on the sidelines, but Jean Kleyn and Oli Jager will both be available for selection, while Tom Ahern’s availability will also be decided later this week.

Following the clash with Castres, Munster will return to United Rugby Championship action against the Dragons and Glasgow Warriors before the Six Nations gets underway, with Ireland providing the curtain raiser when they take on France at the Stade de France on Thursday, February 5.