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Leinster receive injury boost with 2 Ireland stars fit for Northampton
By Josh Raisey
Leinster and Ireland duo Garry Ringrose and Jimmy O’Brien will return to full training this week and will be in contention to face Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park on Saturday.
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Ringrose has been out since the final round of the Guinness Six Nations, where he picked up a shoulder injury against Scotland. O’Brien, meanwhile, missed the entire Championship with a neck injury sustained in January. Leinster confirmed in an injury update on Monday the duo’s availability.
They will provide options for Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber after a tough two weeks in South Africa, where Leinster lost to the Lions 44-12 and the Stormers 42-12.
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The squad arrived back in Ireland on Monday morning, and will begin their preparations for the semi-final, where a vastly different team will take the field in Dublin to the ones that played in South Africa.
Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan’s availability for the match will be assessed later in the week after stepping up his training programme following an ongoing hip injury. The 27-year-old was a late withdrawal from the quarter-final victory over reigning Champions Cup winners La Rochelle earlier in April.
James Ryan (arm), Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot), meanwhile, remain out of contention to play.
After defeating La Rochelle, Leinster are gunning for a fifth European crown, which would level Toulouse’s record. The French giants are one of the teams that could potentially prevent them from realising that dream though, as they take on Harlequins on Sunday at the Stadium de Toulouse.
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Will be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…