Munster favourite Zebo targets new year return against Ulster
The British & Irish Lions tourist has been sidelined since October 12, when he cracked a bone in his left foot during Munster’s Heineken Cup opener at Edinburgh.
Following Munster’s dramatic European win in Perpignan last Saturday, the province have three RaboDirect Pro12 games over the Christmas holiday period, starting with a Musgrave Park date against Scarlets on Saturday evening, followed by a derby encounter with Connacht at Thomond Park on December 27.
Zebo, 23, has been pencilled in for the third game, another inter-provincial clash, this time at Ravenhill, providing he continues to make progress in his rehabilitation.
“Hopefully he will be back around Christmas, looking possibly at Ulster and that’s if everything goes to plan,” Penney said yesterday of Zebo. “He’s doing a little bit of running on a gravity treadmill and is making good progress to that end, but hasn’t put the boots on yet or run around on grass.”
If Zebo does return on schedule it puts the exciting Irish talent in contention for Munster’s final Heineken Cup pool games at Gloucester the following weekend and then at home to Edinburgh a week after that, the dates for which are due to be announced today by tournament organisers, ERC.
It would also give Zebo the opportunity to impress new Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt ahead of the 2014 RBS 6 Nations, having missed the November Tests against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand.
More immediately, Munster look likely to be without captain Peter O’Mahony, Paul O’Connell, Keith Earls and Ian Keatley for the visit of Scarlets as the province aim to maintain their four-point lead over Leinster at the top. Wing Earls suffered a concussion against Perpignan and must complete the return to play protocols for head injuries, while fly-half Keatley has aggravated the hip injury he has been managing recently and which forced him out of the league win at Cardiff Blues last month.
“Earlsy will probably (be out) but that will come to fruition in the next 48 hours but it is highly likely that he won’t be available,” Penney said. “Ian Keatley went in with a corked thigh and has an ongoing hip problem which was just holding him back. As we said about a month ago, he had some time away from the game to get that right and it’s just a little bit aggravated again so he may now be out of the scene again this weekend.”
Penney said he was “certain” O’Mahony and O’Connell would not be available this week under the IRFU’s player welfare management rules while hooker Damien Varley could also be rested after extended service following Mike Sherry’s knee injury that will require surgery this week and a lengthy spell on the sidelines, paving the way for a possible first Munster start for Duncan Casey. There were some returnees to training at the University of Limerick yesterday with wings Gerhard van den Heever and Andrew Conway back in harness and available for selection this weekend following hand and knee injuries respectively.
Penney also looks set to reward the Munster A players who beat Plymouth Albion last Friday in Waterford to keep the province’s B&I Cup hopes alive.
“Most of them played in the B&I Cup on the weekend and a lot of that was very, very pleasing to watch,” Penney said. “A lot of individual performances and a lot about the team was great to see. So there’ll be some adjustments in the group this week and some of those boys will come in and the expectation is they’ll be able to slot in and do a great job for us.
“That’s what they’re here to do and that’s part of growing the depth and the talent within the group, that when people get the opportunity they’ve got to front up because it’s tough to get selected sometimes.”
Even tougher for back three player Luke O’Dea, whose injury-hampered career to date will now endure another eight weeks on the sidelines. The 23-year-old had surgery last weekend on the thumb he broke against & Plymouth, continuing an unfortunate sequence of injuries in 2013. O’Dea injured a wrist in March on Munster A duty, then strained a hamstring on his comeback for Shannon in October and the trip to Plymouth was his return from that.
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