Robbie Henshaw is hopeful of a return ahead of Ireland’s clash with the All Blacks in Chicago in November after confirming he will be miss the opening part of the new season.
Ireland centre Henshaw – who has swapped Guinness PRO12 reigning champions Connacht for Leinster over the summer – sustained a knee ligament injury in last month’s second Test against South Africa.
Leinster’s season starts on September 2 against Benetton Treviso and though Henshaw believes he may be out of action for at least the first six weeks of the campaign, but remains positive that he will pull on an Ireland jersey again in November.
“It’s not an ideal start for me,” said Henshaw, who started every game at the 2016 RBS 6 Nations. “I was pretty shocked to hear when it happened.
“It’s one of my first big enough lower limb injuries. It’s not ideal. Starting with a new club you want to make a massive impact from the get go so it’s not a good start for me. The only thing I can do is do the best I can to recover and get back.
“To be optimistic I’d be aiming for before that [Chicago on November 5], maybe for the European games in the Champions Cup. But to be honest I can’t say.”
Henshaw was one of the stars for Connacht as they completed their underdog story by overcoming four-time Leinster back in May.
And while the 23-year-old left Connacht with a heavy heart, he believes working with the likes of Ireland teammate Jonathan Sexton on a daily basis will help raise his game.
“Even just for me, the change needed to come,” added Henshaw. “I’ve been there a long time. I needed the change for myself as well and to go and get experience off guys who have got to that next level, for example Jonny Sexton, Jamie Heaslip, guys who have played in the Lions team.
“Obviously Connacht did a lot for me over the years as well, skills-wise and development-wise as well, but hopefully now I can get to that next level. I love a challenge, I want to keep improving my game.
“I’ll never settle to not improve my game so I think that’s one of the reasons. I need to be pushed by other guys, that’s one of the things that you need to improve.”
