Ireland star suffers fresh injury setback ahead of All Blacks clash
Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster (inset) and star winger Mack Hansen.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will be sweating over the fitness of star winger Mack Hansen after he suffered an injury while on duty for Connacht in their narrow loss to the Bulls on Friday.
Hansen secured a bonus point for the Irish province when he crossed for a 79th try in the right-hand corner of the field of Connacht’s 28-27 United Rugby Championship (URC) defeat at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway.
However, he was tackled by the cover defence while crossing the whitewash and injured his leg in the process, before being carted off the field. He was also seen wearing a moonboot after the match.
Rotten luck with injuries
Hansen has had rotten luck with injuries of late, only returning to action this week against the Bulls after he was sidelined during Connacht‘s two previous URC matches against Benetton and Cardiff.
This, after the 27-year-old flyer injured his foot while in action for the British and Irish Lions during their 48-0 victory over the AUNZ Invitational a week before the series opener against the Wallabies in Brisbane.
That injury subsequently ruled Hansen out of all three Lions Tests against Australia.
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However, he made his return for Connacht against the Bulls with a view of being involved in Ireland‘s upcoming end-of-year Tests, but his latest injury makes him doubtful for the men from the Emerald Isle’s eagerly anticipated encounter with New Zealand in Chicago on November 1.
Following the clash with the All Blacks, Ireland are set to face Japan, Australia and South Africa on successive weekends at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Connacht assessing the extent of latest injury
Connacht are assessing the extent of Hansen’s latest injury, but after Friday’s loss to the Bulls, boss Stuart Lancaster praised his team for securing their efforts.
Hansen’s try secured an extra bonus point for Connacht, and they could easily have won the match, but Sean Naughton was off target with a difficult conversion attempt into the wind.
“It was an incredible game, a rollercoaster from the first minute. I said to the boys in the changing room that if I was a Connacht supporter, I would be very proud of the team, and I’m proud of them as a coach,” said Lancaster after the match.
“Obviously, we are frustrated with ourselves, and it’s a game we could have won, but we got two points.”
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