Caelan Doris’ British and Irish Lions involvement thrown in doubt after worrying Leinster update
Caelan Doris and an inset of British and Irish Lions boss Andy Farrell.
Leinster have issued a worrying update on captain Caelan Doris, throwing his involvement with the British and Irish Lions into doubt.
Doris scored a try in the Irish province’s 34-37 Investec Champions Cup defeat to Northampton Saints on Saturday, but did not last too much longer as he was replaced by Ryan Baird in the 56th minute.
The club have now confirmed that he sustained a shoulder injury in the heartbreaking defeat, which raises doubts over his availability for the Lions tour to Australia.
Caelan Doris out?
Doris is widely regarded as the frontrunner, along with Maro Itoje, to skipper the famous invitational team, but only time will tell if he will be fit to feature.
Leinster confirmed on Monday that Doris has ‘definitely’ been ruled out of the side’s United Rugby Championship clash against Zebre this weekend and will undergo a procedure on the shoulder injury he picked up in the loss to Northampton Saints.
“The full extent of the injury, and implications for the summer, won’t be known until after the procedure,” the statement added.
If Doris were to miss the tour through injury, it would be a hammer blow to the side despite the plethora of options in the back-row at Andy Farrell’s disposal, with his leadership being another huge attribute.
The Lions boss was coy about selecting his captain when pressed about the role in March.
“There are maybe four, five, six on the list,” he said. “When you narrow it down, this is the right number to fit the schedule and what you need and which hybrid players can play in different positions.
“Then you consider who are the leaders within that, what are the dynamics of a leadership group and who is going to be capable of being themselves and comfortable in and around all that. It takes a little bit of a process, rather than diving straight in.”
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Meanwhile, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen issued some good news to accompany the setback of Doris, with Ireland lock James Ryan back to full fitness after missing the semi-final. He is joined by back Rob Russell, with both players taking part in training this week.
There was no new update on Jordan Larmour, Will Connors and Brian Deeny.
Farrell will name his British and Irish Lions squad on Thursday and he was expected to name his captain at the same time, but may well delay that decision until clarity over Doris’ injury is provided.
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