Cruciate injury ends Fitzgerald’s season

Leinster player requires surgery following ACL rupture

Luke Fitzgerald has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after Leinster confirmed that he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first half of Ireland’s Six Nations defeat to Italy in Rome on Saturday.

Fitzgerald only played 12 minutes of the game at the Stadio Olimpico as a first-half replacement for Keith Earls, who went off in the 25th minute with an injured shoulder.

The 25-year-old will now require surgery once the swelling settles down and will not return before the season ends.

Fitzgerald has suffered a terrible run of serious injuries in recent years and his predicament is not helped by the fact that he is out of contract after this season.

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