Munster’s RG Snyman suffers a fresh injury setback

Munster’s RG Snyman has suffered a setback during the last block of his rehabilitation. The Springboks lock, who suffered an ACL injury just seven minutes into his debut against Leinster last August, will see a specialist this week and will undergo a minor procedure on his knee after suffering an unrelated injury.

This will delay his return to training for a number of weeks.

Academy lock Thomas Ahern (knee) is continuing with his return to training in advance of Friday night’s Pro14 Rainbow Cup game against Ulster at Thomond Park (kick-off 8.15pm).

Jack Crowley, Alex Kendellen and Conor Phillips are unavailable as they remain with the IRFU 7s training programme while Neil Cronin (knee) and Paddy Patterson (ankle) are still sidelined.

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Rhys Ruddock and Harry Byrne have been ruled out of Leinster’s game against Connacht on Saturday evening at the Sportsground (kick-off 7.35pm). Ruddock injured his calf in the first half against La Rochelle and will be unavailable for four to six weeks, while the younger Byrne brother will be sidelined for a further three to four weeks due to the hamstring injury he suffered five minutes into the province’s defeat by Munster last Saturday week.

Johnny Sexton (concussion) remains on the sidelines while Jamison Gibson-Park (hamstring) and Caelan Doris (calf) will be further assessed this week.

Rowan Osborne (hand) and Ciarán Frawley (hamstring) have returned to full training, while Jimmy O’Brien will look to increase his training load this week as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Ruddock and Byrne join an injury list which in addition to Sexton already includes Will Connors (knee), Jack Dunne (ankle), Adam Byrne (quad), Dan Leavy (knee), Conor O’Brien (knee) and Max Deegan (knee)

Meanwhile Connacht can confirm Abraham Papali’i has committed to the province after signing a contract extension for the 2021-22 season.

The big number ‘8’ incurred a red card on debut and another against Zebre last October (leading to a five-game ban), restricting him to just 11 games (five starts) so far, while his longest stint has been 53 mintues.

But he has scored three tries and the 27-year-old again showed with a game-changing cameo off the bench in their win away to Ulster last time out that he is undoubtedly a weapon.

“I’ve been really pleased with Abraham’s progression since he joined us,” said Andy Friend. “He’s had to adapt to the rigours of rugby union as well as an off-field culture change, made no easier by the pandemic, and we are now seeing the fruits of his hard work. His last few performances have been very impressive and we look forward to seeing him continue his development into next season.”

The Ulster duo of John Cooney and Robert Baloucoune suffered concussions in the Challenge Cup guarter-final defeat by Leicester Tigers last Friday and will now follow the Graduated Return to Play Protocols. They join Jack McGrath (hip); Luke Marshall (knee); Cormac Izuchukwu (knee); Stewart Moore (hip); and David O’Connor (shoulder) on the injured list.

Meanwhile the Toulouse trio of Antoine Dupont, Jerome Kaino and captain Julien Marchand have been joined by La Rochelle’s Grégory Alldritt and Will Skelton on the five-man shortlist for the EPCR European Player of the Year.