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'Too early' to make call on Johnny Sexton's semi-final availability

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says it's too early to say whether Johnny Sexton or Caelan Doris w...



Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says it's too early to say whether Johnny Sexton or Caelan Doris will be available for Sunday's Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle.

Sexton sat out the weekend defeat to Munster, as he continues the return to play protocols following the head injury he sustained against Exeter in their quarter-final win a couple of weeks ago.

Cullen says the outhalf will continue to go through the required tests before a call is made.

"We’ll see, we’ll see," he said of Johnny Sexton's availability.

"We’ll do the full array of tests and he’ll see whoever he needs to see and we’ll see how he comes through the week.

"TBC. TBC. It’s very early days yet. It’s still Saturday. Next Sunday is miles away, he added.

Caelan Doris had been due to return from his own period stood down after multiple concussions earlier this season, but the number 8 was a late withdrawal from the team to take on Munster due to a calf injury in Friday's captain's run.

And the Leinster coach says he had been hoping to get some valuable game time into Doris ahead of Sunday's showdown with Ronan O'Gara's side.

"It would have been good to get him any game time really, just to see where he’s at but, again, we’ll see how he turns that calf around. He’s trained over the last number of weeks which is the positive piece with him. He was raring to go so that’s just the way it played out."

Another injury Cullen is hoping to see clear up is the hamstring issue that has kept Jamison Gibson Park out of the last two games. The Ireland international hasn't played since the PRO14 final win against Munster in March, but Cullen says they need to tread carefully with the scrum half's knock.

"We’re just being conservative with him. It’s whether you take the step on any given week so that’s kind of the dilemma that we’re on, so obviously the longer we leave him, the better he’ll be but it’s just whether we’re willing to take a chance or not. So we’ll manage him appropriately over the course of the week."

“There are some positives within the game because there’s young players coming in and getting valuable experience. Some players came back who had been out for a long while and they got some game time, which is good as well.

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Caelan Doris Heineken Champions Cup Johnny Sexton Leinster Rugby Leo Cullen