MUNSTER LOCK PAUL OโCONNELL is set for a mid-December surgery date as he looks to set right his ailing back.
OโConnell has played just twice for Munster this season โ appearing in Heineken Cup clashes with Racing Metro and Edinburgh in October.
The respective 50 and 60 minute stints seemed to suggest that the 33-year-old would be fit for Irelandโs November Series but a niggling back injury put paid to hopes of him lining out in green.
The southern province have refused to set out a timetable for OโConnellโs return.
It now appears likely that he will be going down the surgery route in an effort to return in time for Heineken Cup pool round five and six and the Six Nations in February and March.
Munster coach Rob Penney confirmed after the 15-9 victory over Saracens at the weekend that there would be no return for OโConnell in the coming weeks.
Penney said, โI think thereโs something coming out about Paul in the next week or so.โ
No go on Joe show
Leinster coach Joe Schmidt confirmed after Leinsterโs 15-12 Heineken Cup defeat to Clermont, yesterday, that he would not be part of the British and Irish Lions coaching ticket.
Talking to Sky Sports after his side lost for the first time in 18 European outings, Schmidt said he would not be travelling to Hong Kong and Australia with Warren Gatlandโs Lions next summer.
โIโm not going to be one of [the coaches],โ he revealed.
Schmidt added, โIโve got my hands full with these [Leinster] guys to be honest.โ
Leinster take on Clermont Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday and the New Zealander admitted that his sideโs best hopes for qualification to the knock-out stages may lie in securing a spot as best runner-up. He commented:
We may have to scramble in as best qualifierโฆ Itโs difficult enough to beat this team [Clermont] rather than chasing bonus points.โ
Former Welsh rugby star Ieuan Evans, who knows Gatland well, told Sky Sports that he expected the Lions coaching staff to included Rob Howley, Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree.
The announcement on the Lions coaching ticket will be made on Wednesday.
Time to pack it in Paul. Think of life after rugby.. Your health is your wealth
Yeah, he should. Back issues could haunt him for later in life.
Nonsense. Plenty of miles left on the clock yet, the Lions need his captaincy and Ireland need him for 6N.
Richard โ its nonsense so long as its not YOUR back we are talking about. The Lions and Ireland do need him but surely his health must come first.
Paul has been a superb servant to Irish rugby and owes them nothing but he really needs to think outside rugby now, he hasnโt been injury free for a while and Iโd say his body could do with the rest
Richard, your comments just go to show how little you know about rugby. Youโre probably an armchair supporter and I doubt you ever played bar a bit of tag rugby at a push!
I played rugby all my life, right up to senior interpro level so I think I am qualified to talk about this. Throughout my playing career most of us would have had injuries requiring some form of intervention every year (keyhole surgery, cortisone injections into joints etc. At the time we had the best of doctors to look after us. Now some 10 years after we have finished playing all these great doctors are gone, most of us are crocks , some with bad backs requiring vertebrae to be fused, others need double hip replacement and only last month one of the guys had a full knee joint replaced. Lots of others suffer with neck pain and others have arthritis in their finger joints. Neil Francis writes regularly about the damage rugby has done to ex players and he should know..
Hear Hear, the body knows. The mind takes a bit longer to convince.
Donal Lenihan has had his hop replaced, he played with and against my ol fella. Both are goosed with all kinds of problems, guys I played with at club level were crocked by their mid thirties after playing to a higher level than me. Itโs not fun when your rolling out of bed in pain or struggling to pick up your kids.
Think the back problems have already arrived. Time to pack it in.
Ben a fantastic player for club and country, but when it comes to health, he needs to do the right thing. Better to leave now with head high rather than stooped over with a crocked back! Nobody would begrudge Paul O Connell retirement!
Agreed. Ireland need him and the lions. But long after we donโt his family will still need him. Even Rugby heroes and legends have limits. Would have loved him at Leinster. Thatโs all I would have changed.
Its obvious not many of you understand rugby, and I doubt any of you are doctors either! If it was unsafe for him to go back it would never be allowed by the IRFU or Munster medics. Who are you all to say that it is time for him to retire, it is a rough game and all players know the risks involved, and thankfully now there are endless amounts of health checks that would prevent anyone taking to the field with a serious risk. A load of Dr Doomsdays in this piece !! Best of luck Paulie with the recovery, will be good to see you back in February.
This is not some punchdrunk boxer from 1978 itโs one of the best looked after rugby players we have ever had. Paul OโConnell plays rugby because he wants to not because Ireland or Munster need him. If he decides itโs time to hang up the boots then thank you very much for all you have done.
As for Neil Francis the man doesnโt even like rugby. I was 19 when I played against him and I couldnโt believe how lazy and unfit he was. Worst example of an irish international iโve ever seen, If he wasnt as big as he was he wouldnโt have got a game for belvoโs j4โฒs. Iโd say heโs more injuries tripping over the step going into McDonaldโs then he ever had playing rugby
If he is one of the best looked after rugby players why is he injured all the time ? Imagine what he will be like when he retires and all these great doctors wonโt be looking after him any more!!
As for Frannoโs fitness I detect a little bit of jealousy there. His fitness has nothing to do with him reporting on what he saw and continues to see with current and past players.
First time for me โ I agree with you !
Mr magoo you talk lots of nonsense, cant even provide your real nameโฆor else we would know that you are lying about your HUGE interpro careerโฆ.pleeeease!
Thatโs to Chris
I donโt like where this is going, me and elrat on the same side. Francis wore the Irish jersey and didnโt have the decency to put in the effort while wearing it. The man is a disgrace. There is no jealously where that man is concerned.
As for Paulie you talk like the man has no idea of his own body. Every rugby player gets injured and knows full well of the dangers within the sport he plays. Iโve played rugby all my life and am in far better shape than my friends the same age who didnโt play. You donโt play a contact sport if your body canโt handle it. Paul OConnell can handle it more than most.