Penney has no date for O’Connell’s return

The date of Paul O’Connell’s return to competitive rugby is still unknown after Munster head coach Rob Penney admitted he did not know when the Ireland and Lions lock would be ready.

O’Connell, 32, was believed to be on course for a first game since May 5 when he aggravated a knee injury against Ulster, against the same team at Ravenhill on September 14 in round three of the RaboDirect Pro12.

Yet, a week after team manager Niall O’Donovan declared O’Connell “on schedule for Rabo 3”, the second row was a spectator in Limerick yesterday as Munster trained for tomorrow’s game against Treviso at Thomond Park.