IRELAND AND Leicester fullback, Geordan Murphy is extremely doubtful for Ireland’s series of November Internationals against Australia, Fiji, and South Africa in Dublin. The Leicester captain, who was part of Declan Kidney’s Grand Slam winning side when they defeated Wales last March at the Millennium Stadium, dislocated his left shoulder playing in a Premiership match against Bath at the weekend.
Murphy is currently undergoing tests to determine the extent of the damage but the very best hopes, which came from the club yesterday, are that he would be back playing in three to four weeks. The worst case scenario is that he could be sidelined for a matter of months.
Leicester’s medical team is unsure if Murphy’s dislocation popped back in again immediately after he was tackled in the second half of the hugely-physical 20-20 draw with Bath.
But with Ireland’s first match of the series scheduled for Croke Park on November 15th against the Wallabies, even if he makes a comeback closer to the best-case scenario, it might be too soon for the Kildare player to be part of Kidney’s autumn plans.
“The injury is being assessed this week. Nothing is expected until after they have done that. They’re having a good look at it,” said a Leicester official.
Head coach Richard Cockerill hinted that he was more pessimistic about his 31-year-old captain’s quick return.
“It’s obviously not ideal having Geordan injured,” said Cockerill. “He could be back in three to four weeks or it could be three to four months. We just don’t know at the minute. If the shoulder has gone straight back in, it shouldn’t be too bad. But if the ligaments have been stretched or damaged, it might be longer. He is clearly going to be out for a while, whatever the diagnosis.”
Murphy came off the bench last season in Ireland’s historic win in Cardiff in the Six Nations Championship, when he replaced fullback Rob Kearney after 67 minutes. He is currently among Leicester’s top-five try scorers, top-five goal kickers and in the top-five players in terms of minutes spent on the pitch.
This is also Murphy’s testimonial year with the club, where he has played in over 600 matches since he first moved over to England in the 1997-98 season.
