Mack Hansen serious doubt for Six Nations following surgery on injured foot

Mack Hansen suffered another recurrence of his foot injury against South Africa. Pic: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Mack Hansen has emerged as a serious doubt for the Six Nations after undergoing surgery for a troublesome foot injury.

A timeline when the Irish winger might return has not been set but all the indications are that it will be months rather than weeks before he is back.

The 27-year-old missed all three tests for the Lions against his native Australia during the summer because of the foot injury and he suffered a recurrence of that during his only appearance this season for Connacht against the Bulls in mid-October.

That ruled him out of Ireland’s trip to Chicago to play the All Blacks but he returned only to suffer another recurrence of the foot injury against South Africa.

Connacht lineout and maul coach John Muldoon, whose side are preparing for a Challenge Cup game against Ospreys in Bridgend on Sunday, confirmed that Hansen has undergone surgery but that it will be some days before a timeline for his return can be worked out.

“He's just had the surgery so we're going to have to wait to see what the actual extent of it is. Obviously, with anything you go in and you find out what exactly it is and I'm not sure if they've got the report yet. He's literally just out of surgery so we're not going to know that for a couple of days,” said Muldoon.

“There have been a few occasions that this is happening and he needs to get it right and get it fixed. It’s not going to be a quick turnaround. We're not talking about a few weeks here, it's probably medium term without knowing the actual facts.” Muldoon said it has been frustrating for Hansen to have to deal with injuries but he has no doubt he will come back stronger.

“When you think back in the games, obviously he scored three tries — although I could have probably ran them in myself! — but like every time he got the ball the place lit up, there was an energy about him, there was an energy about the crowd when he got the ball and look we all know what Mack is about,” added Muldoon.

“I think it's a testament to him as well to have a number of injuries over the last while — often players take time to come back and hit the the highs — but to be able to come back in fresh after not playing any rugby and having a couple of injuries and to perform at that level, I don't think people understand how mentally strong you have to be.

“It has been frustrating for him and I'm sure he'll be sitting down after that operation over the next couple of weeks and months and just trying to get back on the pitch and show us the character that he is.”