Nash ankle injury gives Munster fresh headaches

Winger forced to hospital after training injury and will miss Six Nations trip to Italy as province prepare for business end of season 

WALKING WOUNDED: Ireland's Calvin Nash. Pic:  INPHO/Ben Brady

Munster face an anxious wait on Calvin Nash’s fitness after the wing was sent to Dublin’s St Vincent’s hospital for an assessment on an ankle injury sustained during Ireland training.

Nash had started his second game of the Guinness Six Nations campaign against France last Saturday but was replaced by a fit-again Mack Hansen for this Saturday’s final-round trip to Italy. Yet interim Ireland head coach Simon Easterby revealed on Thursday that the wing would not be a part of the squad travelling to Rome that afternoon due to an injury picked up in a training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre in west Dublin.

“He’s picked up a bit of an ankle injury. That’s only just happened,” Easterby said. “He picked up something yesterday, he was assessed this morning and he’s got an ankle which has blown up a little bit.

“It’s a little innocuous one, he’s gone to Vincent’s to get a quick check up but he won’t be travelling with us for that reason.” 

Munster have numerous injury issues in their back three as they prepare for the end of season run-in to the URC play-offs and a Champions Cup Round of 16 tie in France against La Rochelle on April 5. Back three players Thaakir Abrahams, Diarmuid Kilgallen and Shane Daly are all ruled out through injury and Munster have signed Connacht and former Ireland 7s wing Andrew Smith on a short-term contract, the 24-year-old on Thursday named on the province’s bench for Friday’s friendly at Leicester Tigers ahead of the following week’s URC trip to champions Glasgow Warriors.

Ben O’Connor, Patrick Campbell and Shay McCarthy will be Munster’s back three at Welford Road with Campbell in line for his first Munster appearance of the season following a shoulder injury.

Former Leinster centre Ben Brownlee, who has been training with Munster for the past few weeks, and Gordon Wood are named at centre in an inexperienced matchday squad captained from fly-half by Tony Butler.

MUNSTER (v Leicester Tigers): Ben O’Connor; Patrick Campbell, Gordon Wood, Ben Brownlee, Shay McCarthy; Tony Butler - captain, Paddy Patterson; Mark Donnelly, Max Clein, John Ryan; Cian Hurley, Evan O’Connell; Seán Edogbo, Ruadhán Quinn, Brian Gleeson.

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Kieran Ryan, Ronan Foxe, Conor Ryan, Jack Oliver, Dylan Hicks, Andrew Smith, Jed O’Dwyer.

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