Bicep surgery for Kearney

Leinster and Ireland full-back Rob Kearney has been ruled out for several weeks after he had surgery last Wednesday on a bicep injury.

Kearney was already sidelined with a separate knee issue.

Backs coach Girvan Dempsey gave the latest injury update ahead of the PRO12 trip to the Liberty Stadium to face the Ospreys this Saturday.

Dempsey confirmed a number of players made successful returns from injury at the weekend with both the senior and Leinster 'A' teams.

Sean Cronin came off the bench for Leinster 'A' away to Ulster Ravens scoring a try in the process as he made a return from a hamstring injury.

In the Champions Cup quarter-final win over Wasps at the Aviva Stadium both Jack Conan and Zane Kirchner came through the game with no issues having missed the win against Cardiff Blues with calf and hamstring trouble.

Dempsey also confirmed that while Johnny Sexton received treatment for a shoulder injury he wasn’t a concern and completed the 80 minutes without issue.

Rhys Ruddock missed the game against Wasps with a slight calf strain but Dempsey was hopeful that he would return to full training this week ahead of selection for the Ospreys.

Dave Kearney (toe) and Dominic Ryan (knee) are also expected to step up their training load this week ahead of further assessment.

Meanwhile Cathal March was withdrawn from the Leinster 'A' warm-up on Friday and will now be unavailable for three weeks with a quad strain.

The only injury from the game against Wasps was the low grade hamstring strain suffered by Adam Byrne in the first half at the Aviva Stadium which rules out the Kildare man from selection this week. Dempsey was hopeful that he would be available for selection for the Connacht game in Round 20 next week.