O’Brien doubtful for RDS showdown

SEAN O’BRIEN’s rich vein of form could be interrupted this week with the Leinster flanker rated as doubtful for the province’s meeting with Ospreys at the RDS on Friday evening.

The Tullow man, who has been in superb form for his club since the November internationals, received what Leinster skills coach Richie Murphy described yesterday as “a very bad laceration to the face” over one eye during last weekend’s win against Connacht.

The injury necessitated O’Brien’s departure after just 13 minutes of the game in Ballsbridge. He has been named in the provisional panel for the Ospreys tie but a decision on his involvement, if any, will be made today.

There was little else to report on the injury front in Dublin, with Ireland back row Kevin McLaughlin suffering no ill-effects from the 80 minutes against Connacht, a game that was his first since last May.

Coach Joe Schmidt has a number of tough but enviable decisions to make this week, particularly in the back line where Luke Fitzgerald and Eoin O’Malley are back in the reckoning after their respective absences after injury.

Fringe players such as Fergus McFadden, Dave Kearney and Niall Morris are also giving the Kiwi much to ponder as the last two Heineken Cup pool rounds appear on the horizon having all made the most of the openings in recent weeks. Internationals Gordon D’Arcy, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip and Jonathan Sexton — who were all unavailable for the defeats of Ulster and Connacht over the holiday period — have also been added to the panel this week.