Fitzgerald undergoes surgery; still hopes to make World Cup

Luke Fitzgerald’s Leinster season has been ended prematurely, with the player undergoing surgery at the weekend to deal with a shoulder injury.

The winger will miss the province’s final two games, PRO12 meetings with Benetton Treviso and Edinburgh Rugby.

Leinster forwards coach Leo Cullen spoke to the Irish Examiner about the injury.

“Basically it’s a repair to [Luke’s] labarum, he suffered a bit of damage there,” Cullen said.

“He only got it done at the weekend so it’s a bit early to say. We’ll find out more as the week goes on in terms of how long it might be.”

Ireland fans will be reassured to hear that Cullen does not think it will keep Fitzgerald out of the World Cup.

“He will certainly be out for the next two weeks,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a World Cup issue.”

27-year-old Fitzgerald is the fourth Irish international to go under the knife in recent weeks.

Rhys Ruddock required surgery to deal with an arm injury, while Marty Moore and Sean Cronin both also needed interventions for shoulder injuries.

Fitzgerald battled back from hip and groin injuries to earn a starting place in Ireland’s final Six Nations match against Scotland in March and now faces another rehab battle to be back into contention for the World Cup in September.