Boost for Connacht as captain Cian Prendergast returns to action after head injury

Cian Prendergast returns to the Connacht ranks 

New skipper Cian Prendergast is set to give Connacht a timely boost as they head to Belfast bidding to build on their bright start to the season when they take on Ulster.

The 24-year old, who took over from Jack Carty as permanent captain during the summer, went off with a head injury in their comeback win away to the Scarlets on Friday night.

But head coach Pete Wilkins said the Kildare native is set to be in the frame after undergoing the return to play protocols, while they will also be boosted by the availability of lock Joe Joyce, out-half Josh Ioane and loosehead Jordan Duggan.

However, tighthead Sam Illo, who suffered an ankle injury in the win over the Sharks the previous week, will be out until November.

“He won’t require surgery on it, which is good news,” said Wilkins. “We are looking at six weeks from the time of the injury so he will certainly be out of action until the November window and we will have a clearer picture of a timeline around at that stage.” Connacht have won two of their opening three games and also picked up two bonus points in the opening round loss away to Munster, scoring 13 tries in the process.

Ulster are going into the game on the back of two losses in South Africa but Wilkins reckons Richie Murphy was targeting the Connacht game with his selection on the tour.

"We’ve got belief coming into this game, we’ve got a degree of form," said the Englishman.

"I’m not sure Ulster’s performances in South Africa will bother them too much. I reckon they picked that side against the Bulls with Connacht in mind.

"There were some important players who were coming off the bench, or were subbed early and when you hear Richie Murphy’s comments after that they weren’t too disappointed with the result, I think they were looking at it with us in mind.

"They’ll have some degree of energy preserved from that and to get back in front of their home fans they’ll be determined to get off to a good start and get their fans involved,” added Wilkins.