Rob Kearney and Jack McGrath to get valuable Leinster minutes

Rob Kearney and Jack McGrath will start for Leinster in their Pro14 match against the Scarlets at the RDS on Friday night (7.35). James Lowe is also likely to return having served his two match suspension for a red card, which kept him out of the Ulster and Toulouse matches, while also missing the Wasps game because of the foreign player rule.

Kearney didn’t travel with the Irish squad to Portugal as game time is a priority to prove that he has recovered from a quad injury he sustained in the game against Ulster on January 5th. Jack McGrath has played twice since his surgery, the latest of which was for 45 minutes in Sunday’s victory over Wasps at the Ricoh Arena.

Adam Byrne has travelled to Portugal as have Sean O'Brien and Robbie Henshaw who both made successful returns from injury in Leinster's win over Wasps. Jack Conan, a late withdrawal in Coventry, has remained with the province but won't play against the Scarlets, nor will outhalf Ross Byrne who sustained a head injury in that match or Dan Leavy (calf).

He is following the return to play protocols. Fergus McFadden has stepped up his training load and will be further assessed by the medical team this week.