Cullen to Receive treatment on his Shoulder

As a result of consultation with medical specialists, as is the norm for contracted players, Christian Cullen will undergo hospital treatment to repair damage to a shoulder muscle.

As a result of consultation with medical specialists, as is the norm for contracted players, Christian Cullen will undergo hospital treatment to repair damage to a shoulder muscle, an injury he suffered in the NPC final played last month.

As a consequence Cullen will not be available for selection for the Celtic League game against Cardiff Blues on November 28th, the Heineken Cup matches against Bourgoin (Dec 6th) and Treviso (Dec 13th) nor the Celtic League game v Connacht on January 2nd. At this stage it is too early to speculate as to his participation in the Heineken Cup games scheduled for January.

Munster coach Alan Gaffney. It is of course disappointing news from everyone s point of view – opposition excepted of course but particularly for Christian himself. However, the important thing now is to treat the injury properly so that when he does debut for Munster he will be a 100% fit. As to when that will be is something we cannot speculate on at this stage. We ll monitor his progress and do what s right by the player.

Cullen explained how what had originally seemed a fairly innocuous injury had turned into something a little more serious. After the NPC final, the diagnosis suggested a maximum recovery period of four weeks. But now it appears that is not the case. I am grateful however for the excellent medical expertise that has been afforded me and for the support and understanding shown by Munster and the IRFU.

It s very frustrating for me and I am very disappointed for Munster and their supporters. My intention coming here was to help Munster achieve success. That is still my objective.