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Leinster injury update on Ireland stars bodes well for URC title push
By Josh Raisey
Leinster have confirmed that Ireland centre Garry Ringrose returned to full training last week from a shoulder injury that has kept him on the sidelines for a large portion of the season.
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The club issued a statement ahead of the United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Ulster last week that the 29-year-old was expected to return to training having been out of action since the final round of the Six Nations this year against Scotland.
Though he did not feature in the 43-20 win over against their Irish rivals, Leinster confirmed on Tuesday that Ringrose did indeed return to training last week, and will be in contention of face the Bulls on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in the semi-finals.
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After missing the win over Ulster as a precaution, Leinster have also confirmed that No8 Jack Conan is expected to return to full training this week. Conan was withdrawn at halftime of Leinster’s 33-7 win over Connacht in the final round of the regular season.
The pair of Ireland internationals will provide a boost to Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber in what could potentially be their final two matches of the season.
This is an injury report that will please Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, who would have been sweating over the centre’s fitness in recent weeks, with the two-match series with the world champions South Africa drawing ever closer.
Ringrose missed the start of the Six Nations this year with another shoulder injury, but returned for the final round of the Championship as Ireland won their second title in two years.
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Elsewhere in the Leinster squad, Charlie Ngatai (shoulder), Jason Jenkins (knee), Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder) and Alex Soroka (foot) remain out of action.
So is this the 3rd Ireland test in SA… this is almost the full Irish starting team. Would be a bit embarrassing if they can’t win this one… 🤔 😁