MARCUS HORAN is out of the autumn international window after Munster confirmed a broken hand, sustained in the gym last Monday, will require four to six weeks of rehabilitation.
In further bad news for both the Munster and Ireland scrum, Jerry Flannery is due in Liverpool tomorrow to see another specialist as he tries to address a frustrating calf problem.
Flannery (32), saw a specialist in Cork on Tuesday and was re-directed to expert medical opinion in England.
The hooker made an initial comeback for Shannon almost two weeks ago when he played for 40 minutes, but broke down after just 21 minutes against Toulon last Saturday.
The problem, Flannery told the Limerick Leader last week, is a nerve/back problem: “What it came down to was that a nerve was getting pinched in my back. That was why I kept tearing my calf. We didn’t figure this out for a while.
“The feeling was this is a calf injury, it shouldn’t be dragging on this long. So that is why I got the anti-inflammatory injections in the spine. It was to help to soothe and nerve and fix things.”
Brett Wilkinson from Connacht is favourite to receive a call-up to replace Horan in the Ireland squad that gathers in Limerick on Monday.
Since recovering from minor heart surgery 12 months ago, Horan had slipped down the pecking order at loosehead prop where Cian Healy and Tom Court will feature next month.
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