Leinster are yet to make a decision on the fitness of Garry Ringrose and Jimmy O’Brien while Cian Healy has now emerged as an injury doubt ahead of this weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-final clash with La Rochelle.
The province will once again be without secondrow James Ryan as he continues his recovery from arm surgery.
Ringrose (shoulder) and O’Brien (neck) both missed Saturday’s victory over Leicester Tigers while Healy, a substitute in that game, limped off before the end with a leg injury. Alongside Charlie Ngatai (calf), the trio require further assessment before their availability for the weekend is determined, the province has said.
However, scrumhalf Luke McGrath, who missed out on Saturday after suffering a head injury the week prior against the Bulls, has gone through his return to play protocols and is now available. Robbie Henshaw (head), Hugo Keenan (hip), Ciarán Frawley (foot) and Andrew Porter (shoulder) all came through Saturday’s game unscathed having recovered from their own injuries prior to that game.
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Leinster line out against Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle side for the fifth time since 2021 on Saturday night at the Aviva Stadium (5.30pm). In last year’s final at the same venue, the French side came out on top, matching their title victory from 2022. In December, Leinster travelled to the Stade Marcel Deflandre and beat La Rochelle for the first time in a 16-9 victory.
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