Munster still uncertain on timeframe of Ireland international’s ‘unfortunate’ injury during a ‘rich vein of form’

Craig Casey in action for Munster.
Munster are still unsure how long they will be without Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey who is set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury recently.
Casey is set to undergo surgery this week after he was forced off the field in Friday night’s narrow 16-14 Champions Cup defeat to Castres at the Pierre Fabre Stadium.
He was carried off the pitch in the 32nd minute of that clash and confirmed that he will be out of action for a considerable time via his Instagram account.
“Devastated to have picked up an injury that will rule me out for some time,” he wrote. “Looking forward to seeing some special things happening in both red and green over the coming months.
Focused on making a speedy recovery
“Lucky to have the best support system I could ask for. Thanks to everyone for their messages and support. I’ve been here before and I’ll do everything and more to be back better than before! Time to get the op done and get after this knee rehab.”
Meanwhile, Munster‘s skills and assistant attack coach, Mossy Lawler, revealed that there is still uncertainty over the timeframe which Casey would be on the sidelines and said the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the 25-year-old as he was in excellent form and advancing his Test claims for Ireland.
“He’s injured his meniscus, so we’re just waiting on a timeframe,” Lawler told the Irish Examiner. “We don’t actually know yet.
“So unfortunate for him, because he was in such a rich vein of form, pushing towards the Six Nations, but more importantly, he’s a massively important cog (for us) as well, so it’s really unfortunate for him.
“He’s a huge part of what we’re about here. He sets standards, off the field and on the field, and he brings massive energy.
“I really do believe he was closing the gap in the Irish set-up so for him, to pick up a knock at the weekend, it’s unfortunate for him, but he’s somebody that we’ll miss.”
Munster are set to face Ulster in a United Rugby Championship derby at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday night.
Lawler said fellow Ireland international Conor Murray is still on the sidelines due to an elbow injury and only expected to return to action when Munster host Leinster at Thomond Park on December 27 which means Paddy Patterson, who replaced Casey against Castres, and Ethan Coughlan would be competing for the starting scrum-half berth against Ulster.
‘Blessed with a lot of talent’
“It gives Ethan and Paddy a huge opportunity. Two really great kids and it’s one position in our squad that were actually blessed with a lot of talent,” he added.
“Patsy, coming back from two ACL surgeries, the work he’s done in relation to getting his game to where he wants to get it to, his off-field work and you can even see you by his game the other night.
“The technical aspects that he’s worked on over the last couple of months through his injury has been outstanding and hats off to him for putting in that effort.
“And the same with Ethan, he is a really, really good technician in relation to his game, so what’s coming behind is something that we’re really, really excited about.”
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