Leinster sweating over Lions trio ahead of Champions Cup clash

Leinster trio Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose are facing a fitness race to make the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final clash with Sale Sharks at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

In just his second match since returning from a calf injury which ruled him out of the Guinness Six Nations, Porter was forced off midway through Leinster’s 49-31 victory over Edinburgh in the Champions Cup round of 16 with what Leo Cullen described as a shoulder/ pec issue. The Leinster boss downplayed the severity of the injury, however.

Ryan and Ringrose, both British & Irish Lions tourists alongside Porter last year, missed the victory over Edinburgh. Ryan remained sidelined with a calf injury picked up during the Six Nations, while Ringrose was recovering from a knock sustained against Scarlets the week before in the United Rugby Championship.

Elsewhere in Leinster’s medical update, it was reported that Tadhg Furlong and Jimmy O’Brien both came through the round of 16 unscathed having been injury doubts leading into the match. The pair will be available for selection again this weekend.

Leinster will host a Sale Sharks side that have been ravaged by injuries to key personnel this season.

Alex Sanderson’s side entered their clash with Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop without both Curry brothers, Raffi Quirke and Rob du Preez, and lost England internationals Bevan Rodd (dislocated shoulder) and Luke Cowan-Dickie (broken arm) during the match.

The Sale boss has confirmed that Cowan-Dickie has undergone surgery on his arm, while Rodd is booked in to go under the knife. Quirke will also miss the trip to Ireland with a hamstring issue, as will Tom Curry, who is still recovering from the calf injury he picked up in the warm-up of England’s meeting with Italy in the Guinness Six Nations.

With Nathan Jibulu facing a hearing and potential ban for an alleged bite, a severely depleted Sale side could arrive in Dublin on Saturday.