Sean O’Brien looks set to miss the entirety of the 2014 RBS 6 Nations after he suffered a dislocated shoulder on club duty with Leinster over the Christmas period.
The Ireland flanker had to leave the field in the second half of his side’s 19-6 victory over Irish rivals Ulster on Saturday.
The 26-year-old, who starred for the British & Irish Lions this summer, will be a big loss for the men in green as new head coach Joe Schmidt plans his maiden RBS 6 Nations campaign.
O’Brien is originally forecast to miss at least two months of action while rehabbing the injury but Leinster forwards coach Jono Gibbes did find some cause for optimism.
“Without knowing a massive amount about it, the positive is that he hasn’t had too much shoulder injuries and it’s a dislocation,” said Gibbes.
“They are going to go in there and fix it surgically, but with no complications he could get back and play some footie this year.”
