RUGBY:LEINSTER CAPTAIN Leo Cullen is hopeful of playing a part in Ireland's Six Nations Championship match against Wales on February 5th despite an ongoing injury which may need keyhole surgery.
Cullen has made an appointment with a specialist in Sweden over troublesome Achilles tendons in both legs but hopes to manage the condition rather than resort to an operation.
The secondrow, who was picked on Declan Kidney’s 24-man Irish squad on Wednesday, will discuss his immediate future with the medical staff in the Irish camp before making a final call.
“I’ve obviously had a bit of an issue and been coping with it okay, it’s not that big a deal,” said Cullen. “I’d say I probably would just manage away. If it gets to the stage where I’m struggling to play then obviously it’ll get taken out of my hands.
“I saw a specialist about it before Christmas. It was always the plan to get through these European games and then let Declan (Kidney), Joe (Schmidt) and myself reassess next week.
“That’s the situation. There’s always a case where players have little issues and this is no different. I’ve been named in the squad and we will reassess next week.
“The specialist I have seen is top of his field and with that comes some difficulty in getting access. At the time it was decided to have an appointment and we’d take it from there.
“The games are not so much the issue,” added Cullen. “It’s just about managing the training load. That’s been the main problem.”
Schmidt was optimistic about Kevin McLaughlin and Jonny Sexton passing fitness tests today for Leinster’s Heineken Cup game tomorrow against Montpellier but was less so about Luke Fitzgerald.
Sexton rolled an ankle last week, while Fitzgerald has had a neck strain since the end of last month and McLaughlin took a blow some weeks ago.
Fitzgerald, though, appears to have run out of time.
“Johnny is coming along pretty well. He is hobbling a little bit but the fact that he finished the game . . . he did some good exercises hopping on the foot today. We are still hopeful yet. He hasn’t trained fully yet so he will have a fitness test tomorrow,” said Schmidt.
“I don’t think Luke will be available, unfortunately. Luke is probably a week or even just a day away. That’s how fine the line is and we had a six-day turnaround.
“Kev McLaughlin is the only other one. He got a ‘ding’ for us a couple of weeks ago and he’s a massive player for us. He’s another guy who we’ll make a decision on tomorrow, so it’s really just those three players who we will make a final decision on, depending on how they come through a little bit of a fitness test in the morning.”
Schmidt also said he hoped Rhys Ruddock would stay with Leinster. The talented backrow, who won an Ireland cap against Australia in 2010, is just 21 years old and is believed to have an interest in joining Munster.
Son of former Leinster and Wales coach Mike, Ruddock has fought against injury this year but has also captained Leinster when the senior players were unavailable and during the World Cup at the beginning of the season.
“I can understand why they’re interested in him,” said Schmidt. “We’d obviously be very disappointed to lose Rhys.
“He has obviously captained the side seven or eight times and that’s a measure of the respect we have for him as a potential leader of the club.
“I think there’s a few things that have gone against him this year as far as injury is concerned, he got a few knocks and it kind of messed with a bit of his rhythm but I think he came on and had a good impact at the weekend and we’d be delighted if he would continue with us.
“In defence of Leinster, I think Rhys has made really good progress here. There are role models for him to learn from and work with. I guess Munster have a few guys there, like Peter O’Mahony, Billy Holland and Ian Nagle, who can mix and match a bit, so it will interesting to see how that works out. I’d like to think that Rhys would opt to stay with Leinster and believe that that’s where his future lies.”
Schmidt also added the provincial coaches will probably meet next week to discuss the IRFU’s Player Pathway Program.
