Munster's season of injury woes took another turn for the worse today when it was confirmed that lock Dave Foley is out for the season.
The 26-year old, who made his Irish debut against Georgia in November and picked up another cap off the bench in the win over Australia, has been ruled out until June and faces a battle to be a contender for the World Cup squad.
Foley suffered a wrist injury in the Champions Cup win over Sale Sharks in January which required surgery, but it was expected that he would be back in action in another month or two.
But coach Anthony Foley confirmed yesterday that Foley, who had been on the last two Emerging Ireland summer squads, will be sidelined until June.
“It’s a tough blow for everyone but we are getting very used to bad news,” said Foley.
“He had an operation a couple of weeks ago and it was deemed he would be coming back before the end of the season but the consultant has stated it will be the middle of June.”
There is somewhat better news for another Munster lock Donnacha Ryan who has been out with a troublesome toe injury since last March.
The 31-year old yesterday went through his first full training session in Cork and has also gone through his first full scrum after being eased back into it over the past few weeks.
“It is a slow process to get him back and hopefully we are getting close to the end of that process and we will see him in a red jersey sooner rather than later.
“There is no timeline on his return, he trained with us today and we will need to see how it will react tomorrow.
“It’s good to have him out there doing a full session. It’s his first full session since he got the injury so at least he is on the road to recovery,” added Foley.
Ryan won the last of his 28 caps against Italy two years ago. He was included in the Six Nations squad last season but did not see action after suffering the toe injury playing for Munster against Treviso.
Munster take on leaders Glasgow Warriors in Cork on Saturday evening (7.15pm) with four points separating them in the table.
