Jack Conan returns to training after injury lay-off

Jack Conan has returned to on-field training for the first time since suffering a foot injury at the World Cup last October.

And Leinster hope the Ireland back-row will be available to bolster their European campaign with Saracens coming to Dublin for the Champions Cup quarter-final in April.

Before that Leinster face Cheetahs and Southern Kings in South Africa next month – and coach Felipe Contepomi hopes Conan can prove his fitness on that trip.

“We go step by step, it's great to have him on the field training,” Contepomi said. “That's the first step and for him, it's great after the injury he had.

“It will depend on the assessment of doctors and physios. But hopefully, his comeback will be sooner rather than later.

“We have this game [Glasgow this Friday], then a week off, then a rugby week, and then a trip to South Africa.

“I'd say if he can train, we hope that he can be fit and available for selection. But we can't be sure, it's step by step.

“When you come back from injuries and long-standing injuries, sometimes a setback will put you... one step forward and two backwards.”

Conan had been expected to be out for six months after breaking his foot in the run up to the Ireland v Japan game in Tokyo last year, but the Dubliner looks set to return ahead of time.

Centre Rory O'Loughlin has stepped up his training following shoulder surgery and will join Conan back on the training field this week, while Conor O'Brien could miss this weekend's game after suffering a hamstring injury in last Friday's win over Ospreys.