Munster head coach Johan van Graan faces a nervous wait to see if Simon Zebo will be available for Saturday’s Champions Cup round three game against the Leicester Tigers at Thomond Park.
Van Graan got off to a winning start in the Pro 14, with a bonus point 36-10 win against the Ospreys at Irish Independent Park in Cork.
However, the win did come at a cost. Zebo, who recovered from a knee injury to take his place in the starting team yesterday, was withdrawn at half time with a rib injury.
Van Graan told OffTheBall.com’s Oisin Langan that the latest knock for Zebo isn’t serious, but says he’s facing a race against time to be for for the back to back games with Leicester.
“Zeebs, we took off as a precautionary measure. Last week he had the knee and he took a hit to the ribs. We’ll know more on Monday. It doesn’t look serious, it might be a week or two but I don’t want to speculate,” he says.
Van Graan already has a couple of high profile backline absentees for the Leicester double-header, with Keith Earls and Chris Farrell ruled out.
And Van Graan could also be without young loosehead prop Liam O’Connor for an extended period of time, after what the head coach describes as a “pretty serious” knee injury.
The 22-year-old academy prop has featured regularly this season in the absence of James Cronin.
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