MUNSTER FLANKER NIALL RONAN will have to go under the knife for surgery on a cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old’s worst fears were confirmed yesterday when fresh scans revealed that he will need an operation to heal the ligament damage in his left knee.
Ronan had to be helped from the pitch after just 14 minutes of Munster’s Heineken Cup win against Castres Olympique last Saturday, and he was immediately ruled out of Munster’s final pool match against the Northampton Saints this weekend.
The province confirmed last night that Ronan is scheduled to have surgery on 3 February, after which he will begin his rehab with a view to being ready for the start of next season.
The timing of Ronan’s injury is particularly cruel as many felt that his recent form would see him challenge for a place in the Ireland back row for the forthcoming Six Nations.
Ronan made his Ireland debut against Canada in the summer of 2009, and most recently pulled on the green jersey when he played the full 80 minutes in Ireland’s first World Cup warm-up against Scotland in Murrayfield.
Munster coach Tony McGahan will now have to look at ways of reshuffling his back row. All three of Munster’s first choice opensides are currently sidelined through injury, though David Wallace and Tommy O’Donnell are both expected to return to training at some stage next month.
In the meantime, one temporary fix would be to move Donnacha Ryan to the back row and slot Donncha O’Callaghan in alongside Paul O’Connell, a move tried by McGahan when Ronan hobbled off last weekend.
