JOHN HODNETT appears the only new injury concern for Munster ahead of their massive URC encounter with Leinster at Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day.
The fixture, which kicks off at 7.35pm. is a complete sell-out, with television coverage on TG4 and Premier Sports.
Introduced as a replacement for John Kleyn in the closing quarter of the bruising Champions Cup win at Northampton Saints on Sunday, it was later revealed that he sustained a low-grade thigh injury and is awaiting scan results. His availability for next Monday will be determined in the coming days.
Although still only 23, Hodnett has already represented Munster in over 30 competitive fixtures since his debut in 2020.
Academy player Edwin Edogbo continues to recover from an ankle problem, and will not be part of Graham Rowntree’s plans until late January.
In a positive update, Stephen Archer, Jack O’Sullivan and crowd-favourite Simon Zebo are all back in full-training at the club’s High Performance Centre at University of Limerick. The trio had all been nursing various injuries over the last while.
Tadgh Furlong has returned to training with Leinster, and is a possible starter for their trip to Shannonside.
Meanwhile, players/management/staff with Munster have rowed-in behind some local charities ahead of Christmas, such as LauraLynn, Peter McVerry Trust, Barretstown and Focus Ireland.
