Most of Ireland's international squad are likely to be back playing with their provinces in September for the beginning of the Celtic League season, although a number of players remain on the injury list. One of those is centre Gordon D'Arcy, who will have a minor exploratory scope on a shoulder injury tomorrow.
Following a holiday break after Ireland's two-Test summer tour to Japan, the players have returned to the international squad to undertake their 10-week pre-season conditioning programme.
Last summer the national players also went through this pre-season phase before returning to Celtic League and Heineken European Cup duty.
Like last year, players will only return to competitive action once it has been decided that their 10-week programme has been satisfactorily completed. Some of the players are likely to miss the first few Celtic League matches.
The group of 11 Irish players that went on the seven-week Lions tour to New Zealand are likely to be delayed a little longer than the rest of the squad. The cryotherapy ice baths await them in Spala, Poland, for one week from August 14th.
The therapy has been used by the Irish rugby squad on a number of occasions and last season both Brian O'Driscoll and D'Arcy travelled there to aid their rehabilitation from injury.
Four players will not be travelling to Poland. Ireland and Lions captain O'Driscoll, who dislocated his shoulder in the first Lions' Test against New Zealand, has had surgery and is not expected to be back playing full contact rugby for some months.
Certainly, Leinster are resolved to being without him until after the series of autumn internationals against Australia, South Africa and Romania in November.
D'Arcy will also stay at home for his brief hospital stint with the results of the exploratory work on his shoulder more important than the operation itself, while second row Malcolm O'Kelly is still in rehabilitation following surgery on a stomach injury which forced him to leave the Lions tour.
O'Kelly, however, is hopeful of being available for the beginning of the season.
More encouraging news is that Simon Easterby will not be taking the trip to Spala because he is currently on honeymoon. He is not alone in that department as O'Kelly and two Leinster colleagues, Ben Gissing and Bernard Jackman, also got married over the summer.
All other players are currently back with the provinces and most will play in the series of August friendly matches against touring English sides Northampton, London Irish, and Leicester and Italian side Parma.
One former international who will not be involved in Munster's warm-up games against Northampton and Leicester is former All Black fullback Christian Cullen.
He injured his shoulder playing against Cardiff Blues in the Arms Park in March of this year and has not played since. It is unlikely that he will have recovered enough to be involved with Declan Kidney's first competitive games in the Celtic League, which begin on the first weekend of September.
Ulster, meanwhile, are still in the hunt for a backrow. Leinster are also looking for a backrow plus a centre to cover for O'Driscoll. It appears now that new Leinster coach Michael Cheika may look inside the province to fill the slots.
Leinster had thought about Irish capped Harlequins' centre and fullback Gavin Duffy but were unable to lure him back to Ireland.
