by Brendan Cole Ireland captain Paul O'Connell and scrum-half Conor Murray have both been ruled out of the rest of the RBS 6 Nations Championship after suffering injuries in the 17-17 draw with France on Sunday. Ireland captain O'Connell played the full 80 minutes against France but underwent a scan on his left knee after twisting it during the match. That revealed damage to his medial collateral ligament and the injury will rule him out of the next two Ireland games, which are against Scotland this weekend and England on 17 March. In total, the injury is expected to require a 3-6 week recovery period, meaning that O'Connell could be a doubt for Munster's Heineken Cup quarter-final with Ulster at the beginning of April. Scrum-half
Tag: injury
Howlett ankle injury blow for Munster
Munster wing Doug Howlett has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. It was confirmed today that the 33-year-old will have surgery on the ruptured Achilles tendon he sustained during Munster's RaboDirect Pro12 defeat to the Ospreys on Saturday. And Simon Zebo - the likely replacement for Howlett - suffered an ankle injury in today's training session at University of Limerick and left the complex on crutches. The surgery is due to take place tomorrow and is expected to rule him out for six to nine months. It means Howlett will miss all of Munster's Heineken Cup and RaboDirect Pro12 campaigns this year. The news further weakens the Munster backline ahead of crucial back-to-back Heineken Cup clashes against
Fresh injury fears over Liverpool’s Gerrard
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard could be set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines after he was pictured leaving hospital with his right leg in a protective cast on Sunday.GettyImagesSteven Gerrard made a brief return, before his ankle was infected.Gerrard, 31, missed Liverpool's 2-0 win at West Brom on Saturday after contracting an infection in his right ankle during training. The skipper had only just returned from a groin injury (which was also complicated by an infection) that kept him out of action for six months.Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish confirmed the cause of the problem after the game on Saturday, but refused to be drawn on his recovery time.''Steven has got an infection in his ankle,'' Dalglish said. 'He was
Arsenal’s Yossi Benayoun ruled out with injury
Arsenal midfielder Yossi Benayoun is set to spend a stint on the sidelines after picking up a side strain in the club's Carling Cup win over Shrewsbury on Tuesday. GettyImagesYossi Benayoun joined Arsenal on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day • Wenger remains focused on the job• Wenger ignores coaching question Benayoun moved to the Emirates on loan last month, and scored his first goal in Arsenal colours during the 3-1 win over the League Two side. But the Israeli revealed he has also sustained an injury which could see him miss Saturday's Premier League clash against Bolton and next Wednesday's UEFA Champions League match at home to Olympiakos. Benayoun said on Twitter on Wednesday evening: "Very disappointed as I have a strain and will be