O’Driscoll Leinster’s only casualty ahead of Montpellier clash

A BOD-less Leinster will kick off their defence of the Heineken Cup title with a challenging trip to Stade de la Mosson to take on Montpellier on Saturday afternoon with no other injury concerns following Friday night’s league victory over Munster.

It has been confirmed that Brian O'Driscoll will undergo surgery next week for a trapped nerve in his shoulder which is expected to rule the Ireland captain out for up to six months.

Aside from other long-term absentees Mat Berquist and Shane Horgan, the remainder of the squad trained in UCD this afternoon as the province geared up for the Round 1 encounter which will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides.

There were milestones for Ireland forwards Devin Toner (75 appearances) and Mike Ross (50 appearances) last time out in a game which also marked seasonal provincial debuts for a further six players; Gordon D’Arcy, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Shane Jennings, Sean O’Brien and Eoin Reddan.

D’Arcy lies in joint sixth place in the Heineken Cup’s all time try scoring list (23 tries in 77 European appearances) since making his competition debut back in the 1998/99 campaign.

Jonathan Sexton continued his fine run of recent form with a 100% kicking return in a 21-point haul in the Aviva Stadium – boosting his points tally to 44 in two games to date - with Rob Kearney also chipping in with his first drop goal in Leinster colours.

The team for the Pool 3 encounter is expected to be announced on Friday lunchtime prior to the squad’s departure to the south of France.