Blow for Munster as Stringer rules out of Heineken Cup matches

MUNSTER have suffered another major Heineken Cup blow, with Peter Stringer ruled for four weeks with a knee ligament injury.

The scrum-half will miss Sunday's Celtic League derby against Leinster at Musgrave Park and at least two of Munster's European Cup games - away to Sale on October 21 and home to Castres eight days later.

The injury was sustained in a training session in Limerick on Tuesday.

With one door closed to coach Declan Kidney, another is likely to open for young Tomás O'Leary, who was included in the Heineken Cup squad of 36 just last week.

While Kidney only announced a squad of 25 for Sunday's Celtic League clash, speculation is that O'Leary will jump ahead of Frank Murphy and Mike Prendergast to get his first start.

O'Leary was voted the most outstanding player in last year's Munster's Academy, and was one of Ireland U21's stars when they reached the World Cup final last year.

Kidney was putting on a brave face yesterday: "We have great young players in the squad who are looking for places; that's the way it has always been in Munster and we don't ever think about what might be. We just have to accept these things and get on with it," he said.

Some good news emerged in the last couple of days. Shaun Payne, suffering from shoulder/neck strain, trained flat out and Kidney remarked: "He has put himself back in contention for a place in the team."

With just one game to go before the European challenge, Payne's availability is timely. But Kidney was never banking on his return, pointing out how pleased he was with the progress of Barry Murphy.

"What Christian (Cullen) and Shaun's injuries allowed us to do was to try Barry out at full back - and he never played there before. Yet, in two matches he played very well and finished on the winning side."

Another positive is the rapid recovery from a hand injury of Mick O'Driscoll, who sustained the knock in the last minute of Saturday's victory over Connacht. He has been included in the squad.

One player certain to get a run on Sunday is Anthon Pitout, who arrived from South Africa earlier in the week.

Kidney explained: "It will come down to final results of his medical, but he came here to play so that's why he has been included in the squad."

Kidney is well aware that this Celtic League derby means a lot to both sides. "It is important for a number of reasons, including confidence. Right now, all our focus is on the Leinster game and we won't even think about the Heineken Cup until Sunday night.

MUNSTER (from): I. Dowling, S. Payne, A. Pitout, B. Murphy, J. Kelly, G. Connolly, T. Halstead, R. O'Gara, P. Burke, F. Murphy, T. O'Leary, M. Prendergast, M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Flannery, F. Pucciariello, J. Hayes, D. O'Callaghan, M. O'Driscoll, T. Hogan, A. Quinlan, D. Leamy, D. Wallace, S. Keogh, A. Foley (capt).