With the Champions Cup semi-final against Toulon just three weeks away, the hope is Ryan Baird’s injury is not serious enough to keep him out for a prolonged spell.
The blindside flanker and lock, who scored a try against Sale on Saturday and could have had another before he unselfishly gave a scoring pass to Hugo Keenan, did not train with his teammates on Monday. While Leinster were non-specific about the injury, he will not be available for Friday’s away game against Ulster (7.45pm) in the United Rugby Championship.
It is unfortunate for Baird, who broke his leg last November in Ireland’s game against South Africa before coming back against Edinburgh two weeks ago. Max Deegan replaced Baird against Sale on the hour mark.
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“He wasn’t training today, he’s not playing this week, so it’s one of those to be assessed and hopefully a bit more clarity by the end of the week,” said Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal.
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“That’s a real shame because he was playing so well. He was in good form, so we’ll definitely miss him for the week ahead, that’s for sure.”
Captain Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Andrew Porter are also among the group of players that must be further assessed later in the week. Neither Doris nor Porter played last weekend, while Van der Flier was replaced by Scott Penny after 49 minutes.
“So, a lot of those guys are hoping to be back on the training pitch. We’ve obviously got a short week, so it’s hard to get an early read on those guys . . . have a good run around, get assessed, see how they’re feeling, and then make a decision on their availability later,” added Bleyendaal.
“Obviously, Ports (Porter) in the loosehead position, it’d be good to get him back and fit. But obviously we’re looking not to rush as well.”
It would be more than useful to have Porter back as loosehead Alex Usanov departed after just three minutes against Sale and is also unavailable for the trip to Belfast.
It continues Leinster’s season of chop and change, which may be influential in their flux of form over the course of a match. The inability to hit top gear and sustain it through 80 minutes has been a challenge for the team.
Still, they are eking out wins. Bleyendaal is not concerned.
“What I’m enjoying with this group is they’re kind of relishing those challenging times that we’re overcoming,” he said.
“We’ve had some losses recently, but also some really tough, gritty wins where we had to dig deep and overcome a team late in the game, or sometimes we’ve had a fast start and then we’ve had to try and keep momentum.
“A lot of our performances this year maybe didn’t mirror last season, so we’ve had different challenges and we’re just trusting in the process.
“I wouldn’t say we’re concerned. We’re excited to have another opportunity. But we are aware that we need to be better in the big moments.”
Ravenhill Stadium is expected to be another big moment as Leinster know Ulster are ready for a Friday-night brawl. Just below Ulster in the table, Leinster have targeted a top-two place to preserve home advantage come the knockout stages.
They have four league games remaining – against Ulster this week, Benetton (a), Lions (h) and Ospreys (h) before the quarter-finals kick in.
“Home advantage is such a massive thing, for as long as you can have it,” said Bleyendaal. “You can’t always, you know, finish top and have it the whole way through. We did last year, which was great.
“If that’s not to be this year, you’ve just got to find a way. But any home-ground advantage you can get throughout the season is massive. That’s why I think even this weekend, going away from home, it’s going to be a big challenge that mentally and physically we’re going to have to be up for.”
When the teams met last December in Dublin, Leinster were forced to fight their way back into the match from 17-7 down at half-time to 24-20 for a bonus point win.
