Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

07:00 AM-07:30 AM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Rugby

Warren Gatland confirms Sean O'Brien fit to play after positive scan result

Lions head coach Warren Gatland has confirmed that Sean O'Brien and Jack McGrath will be fit to p...



Warren Gatland confirms Sean O...
Rugby

Warren Gatland confirms Sean O'Brien fit to play after positive scan result

Lions head coach Warren Gatland has confirmed that Sean O'Brien and Jack McGrath will be fit to play in the upcoming tour of New Zealand after passing scans.

O'Brien was a late withdrawal ahead of Leinster's defeat to Scarlets in the Guinness PRO12 semi-final at the RDS. 

Gatland quelled fears that the issue would keep him out of the tour by revealing the results of the scan.

"I think Sean is more concerned than we are," he said. "I think he's more frustrated because he felt he overloaded himself last week in training preparing for the game, considering he hadn't a lot of rugby.

"He needed to take more care going into [the Leinster game], so we're just managing him properly now. Having chatted to him, he feels like he's going to be 100%.

"We had him scanned and it came back pretty good. We're pretty happy where he is."

There was also good news relating to McGrath's arm injury sustained during the game.

"He’s fine. He had an x-ray and it's clear, just some bruising."

Gatland explained that with the number of injuries expected to hit the squad over the coming weeks, there's no surprise that some players won't take full part in training.

"The team is pretty good. We had a couple of guys who took a few bangs on Saturday who are just recovering from that. Most guys are making good progress.

"You'll always have a couple of guys, for whatever reason, not taking a full part in training. Whether it's running around and not taking part in the contact session or just completing modified training. That's what we were doing today with a few of the players."

Warren Gatland speaking to the media in Carton House on Monday. Image:  Niall Carson/PA Wire/PA Images

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Rugby