Williams out for six weeks

Nick Williams, injured in the first game of the season against Sale Sharks will be out of action for up to six weeks following surgery last Friday.

Originally it was hoped that the knee injury might respond to rest but further medical examination showed some cartilage damage and Williams underwent an operation last week.

Meanwhile Jerry Flannery and Tomas O’Leary continue to make good progress in the recovery from the respective shoulder and ankle injuries that forced them to miss the Lions tour to South Africa.

While team management are reticent about an exact date of return for the pair it is expected that if they continue their positive progress, they may be involved in Magners League action mid to late September.

This weekend sees the return of James Coughlan who was forced to miss the training trip to Portugal with a bout of pneumonia, he is listed among the replacements for the trip to Leicester tomorrow while Barry Murphy and Ian Dowling are ruled out with what are described as ‘nothing more than little niggles’. 

The 25 strong squad fly to London Heathrow this afternoon from Cork.