Munster to play waiting game on O'Mahony injury return

BIDING THEIR TIME: Peter O'Mahony. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Munster will keep playing a waiting game on Peter O’Mahony’s return from a shoulder injury before determining his availability to face Exeter Chiefs this Sunday but Denis Leamy has insisted the former captain will not be risked for the Champions Cup pool game at Sandy Park.

O’Mahony, 34, was injured against the Stormers on November 18, 40 minutes into his return for Munster following Ireland’s World Cup campaign. 

This Sunday’s Pool 3 second round clash in England was the Test centurion’s target for a comeback but with O’Mahony having reported soreness during Tuesday’s training session at the province’s High Performance Centre in Limerick, defence coach Leamy said the back-rower’s availability remained open for debate.

“Pete did a little bit of training yesterday and we assessed him again this morning,” Leamy said. “Look, it’s still a bit away from the game but he’s got to go through a couple more days and a couple more sessions before we properly get on top of whether he will be available or not.

“At the moment that debate is still open.

“Ultimately it comes down to the medics and Pete around that sort of stuff. We’ll give him every chance. 

"There’s obviously some requirements he’ll have to come through and in terms of pain management and stuff like that so ultimately we’ll just have to see how that progresses over the next couple of days.

“We obviously don’t want to throw him back in and risk him. It’s a long season. We’ll just have to suss that out over the next couple of days.” 

Leamy was more optimistic on the prospects of back three duo Shane Daly and Sean O’Brien returning to action in Devon this Sunday. Daly, who has been playing full-back all season, was injured in training last week and sat out last Saturday’s pool-opening 17-17 home draw with Bayonne. 

O’Brien, a summer signing from Exeter, started on the wing at Thomond Park last weekend but was removed for a Head Injury Assessment after contact with a Bayonne shoulder after 19 minutes and did not return to the field.

“We’ve got Shane Daly and Sean O’Brien who are just going through protocols around injuries. Both trained today, both seemed to be moving quite well so we’ll just have to see how they wake up tomorrow. But hopeful both of them could be in the mix for the weekend.” 

Head coach Graham Rowntree was without more than 10 senior players for last weekend’s European opener with centre Antoine Frisch, hooker Diarmuid Barron, new tighthead prop signing Oli Jager and another back-three duo in Simon Zebo and Pat Campbell also among the short-term injured and whose progress in training will be monitored this week ahead of Friday’s team announcement. 

Fly-half Joey Carbery, and South Africa’s World Cup-winning lock duo Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman remain sidelined for the long-term.

Munster visit a Chiefs side which scored a valuable away win at Toulon in France last Saturday and Leamy said he was expecting a similarly tough physical examination from the 2020 champions and semi-finalists last season as the one his side faced from Bayonne.

“It’s a challenge around that collision area. They’re brilliantly effective at putting phases together. They are masters at putting phase after phase after phase together with their big forwards and their big men so it’s just a big challenge around the physical exchanges again.

“They’ll offer challenges around the maul and the scrum and not a whole lot has changed in terms of what we’ll face. They’ve a very good kicking game and one of the highest percentages for kicking the ball. They kick the ball well so our back three will be challenged.

“But it’s just about putting everything we want to do back in place and that’s really what we’re focusing on, around how we can impact the game and challenge them.”