Ruddock out of Euro showpiece
Leinster have been dealt a blow ahead of their European Champions Cup quarterfinal clash with Bath, as Rhys Ruddock is set to miss the rest of the season.
The 24-year-old suffered a recurrence of an arm injury that kept him out of action for ten weeks.
The abrasive back row forward first suffered the injury in Leinster's Champions Cup triumph over Harlequins in December.
Ruddock returned last month but was forced to go under the knife last week.
He will now miss their Dublin showdown with Bath, after having a plate inserted to prevent further injuries.
"Rhys unfortunately has a situation with his arm so he has had to have that re-fixed which means he is unlikely to feature for the remainder of the season," said Leinster legend and forwards coach Leo Cullen.
"He was struggling when he came back and he got another bang on it. Its just one of those unfortunate ones.
"I don't know when he got this other bang on the arm but he has had to have it repaired and he has a plate in it. That's happened already."
The Leinstermen warmed up for their last-eight clash with a thrilling 34-all draw with Glasgow Warriors at the Royal Dublin Showground.
In some good news for Matt O'Connor, the rest of the squad have come through unscathed, despite scares for Eoin Reddan and Richardt Strauss.
Scrumhalf Reddan took a bang to the head and will complete the return to play protocols this week ahead of a return on Saturday.
Strauss should also be fit, with Cullen confirming he was substituted as a precaution.
"He got a bang on his eye and his eye was just swollen over so, with Sean Cronin the plan was to get him some decent minutes as well, so he came on at half-time and there was no issue."
Source: @epcrugby
