LEINSTER’S INJURY crisis worsens by the day and coach Joe Schmidt is pretty much resigned to being without Jamie Heaslip and Eoin O’Malley as well as Brian O’Driscoll for Saturday’s return Heineken Cup meeting with French champions Clermont.

With Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney casualties of the Autumn Tests, Leinster could be without all four of their Lions Test starters in South Africa as well as the main back-up for O’Driscoll.

Schmidt will give Heaslip every chance of playing and won’t name his team until Friday, but the inspirational number eight – whose durability and strength is unrivalled – still had his left ankle in a cast yesterday and the Leinster coach admitted: “Jamie Heaslip is highly unlikely to play. I think you all saw on Saturday that we tried to get him through to half-time, but his ankle is badly swollen and he’s hobbling around at the moment and highly unlikely, unfortunately. We’re going to give him until Friday and hopefully something can happen.”

O’Driscoll will again see his specialist, Dr Cliff Beirne, on Friday. “We’re hoping to get an all-clear for Brian on Friday but again that’s right up in the air. We were hoping to get something today but he’s back to the specialist on Friday, so that’s right up in the air.”

In the event, Schmidt put the centre’s chances of playing at no better than 30-70.

“Broken bones are broken bones. It’s not like you can jab it or bandage it up – I suppose you could bandage it up but it would look a bit bizarre. I don’t think we can make any sort of decision until Friday.”

This has been compounded by the news that O’Driscoll’s able young deputy, O’Malley, whose footwork and tackling shone like a beacon on his Heineken Cup debut in such intimidating surrounds, has even less chance of playing the return match after sustaining a fractured rib.

“He’s almost 99 per cent sure he’s unavailable for Saturday, which is devastating for him.

“He came out of the game obviously fatigued and sore but really excited about testing himself at that level, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll play.

“If that happens Fergus McFadden will slip into centre and Dave Kearney will take his place on the left wing.”

So bare is the cupboard now that Isaac Boss is likely to cover the wing.

About the only good news is that Seán O’Brien should be fit to play.

“He took a number of hits but there’s no damage to his ribs, it’s just bruising. He’s also got a stinger and got a shoulder in the head from (Sione) Lauaki at one stage and those sort of things took their toll during the game, but the Tullow fellow’s fairly robust and he’s back for another look on Saturday, we’re pretty sure.

“He can’t train today or maybe Thursday, but our medics have been generous and said he can maybe do a captain’s run on Friday.”

O’Brien is likely to move to number eight in Heaslip’s absence, with Dominic Ryan starting at blindside flanker, and Rhys Ruddock being promoted to the bench.

Whereas Leinster dip further into their indigenous young ranks by contrast, Schmidt noted, his old mate Vern Cotter can afford “some fairly luxurious options” in making voluntary changes with alternative internationals as the Leinster coach braces himself and his increasingly patchwork team for what he called a “tour de force”.

“They will come over and look to physically shove us off the park. Vern put out in the press something about a disrespect thing and I think that is them playing a little bit of a mind game with their own players, to get them ready to spark up to that, come over and physically out-muscle us.”

Around 41,000 tickets have now been sold for the Fever in the Aviva, and Schmidt is hoping they can be as raucous as the Stade Marcel Michelin crowd were last Sunday.

“I would love to see a crowd of 45-50,000. This is the fulcrum of our season, to a degree. As much as I hate to say that so early in the season, I know our players felt last week that the referee received a lot of pressure from the crowd.

“I felt that the crowd were certainly very vocal and we would love to have the reverse happen this weekend.”

Meanwhile, Donnacha Ryan is expected to be included in an expanded Munster squad today for their crunch rematch with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday after coming through Munster’s 47-14 British and Irish Cup win over Melrose last weekend, all the more so given the likely unavailability of Paul O’Connell pending his disciplinary hearing tomorrow.

“Donnacha has done a great job for us this season and for Ireland so it will be good to have him back, and we’ll see what direction Paul’s hearing takes on Thursday,” said Tony McGahan.

Ryan will train with the rest of the Munster squad in the CIT today, as most likely will Keith Earls and Paul Warwick, despite sustaining minor leg and head injuries in last Sunday’s win over the Ospreys at Thomond Park.

Inside

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