IT IS ‘HIGHLY unlikely’ that Joey Carbery will be fit for Munster’s Champions Cup semi-final against Saracens on Saturday week, according to Munster coach Johann van Graan.
Carbery limped off before half time of Munster’s quarter-final win against Edinburgh after he had made his comeback for that game following seven weeks on the sidelines with a similar injury.
And 12 days ahead of the Saracens game on 20 April at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, the coach says he does not expect Carbery to be able to prove his fitness.
“Joey at this stage is highly unlikely for the semi-final,” said van Graan. “There’s still a possibility but no, like we said last week, we’ll just take it day by day. But at this stage we’ll see how he is next week.”
Advertisement
Carbery limped off against Edinburgh with a hamstring injury. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Meanwhile, van Graan confirmed Keith Earls had been withdrawn before last weekend’s victory over Cardiff Blues purely as a precautionary measure.
Earls was suffering with stiffness in his legs ahead of the game and the decision was taken to start Darren Sweetnam instead.
“Keith was more precautionary. He’s such an important player and he was really stiff in the warm-up so we decided to pull him out.”
Meanwhile, van Graan said he was honoured to re-sign with the province for another two years, which has extended his contract until 2022.
Munster head coach Johann van Graan. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
The head coach took charge of the team in December 2017 when Rassie Erasmus took on the role of head coach with his native South Africa. He says it was an easy decision to extend his deal.
“You’ve always got to look at the future and my family and I have settled in very well in Limerick and we’ve enjoyed Munster,” said van Graan.
“I know this is professional sport and my contract was due at the end of next season. When Munster Rugby said they wanted to keep me here and I gave it a lot of thought with my family and [am] delighted to stay.
“The very first day I said this is about Munster, not about me, so I’d like to keep it that way and I’m very fortunate to work with incredible players and incredible management staff and everyone working at Munster. The Munster supporters have been very good to me and it’s great to be associated with Munster Rugby.”
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
18 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Carbery 'highly unlikely' to face Sarries in European semi, confirms Van Graan
IT IS ‘HIGHLY unlikely’ that Joey Carbery will be fit for Munster’s Champions Cup semi-final against Saracens on Saturday week, according to Munster coach Johann van Graan.
Carbery limped off before half time of Munster’s quarter-final win against Edinburgh after he had made his comeback for that game following seven weeks on the sidelines with a similar injury.
And 12 days ahead of the Saracens game on 20 April at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, the coach says he does not expect Carbery to be able to prove his fitness.
“Joey at this stage is highly unlikely for the semi-final,” said van Graan. “There’s still a possibility but no, like we said last week, we’ll just take it day by day. But at this stage we’ll see how he is next week.”
Meanwhile, van Graan confirmed Keith Earls had been withdrawn before last weekend’s victory over Cardiff Blues purely as a precautionary measure.
Earls was suffering with stiffness in his legs ahead of the game and the decision was taken to start Darren Sweetnam instead.
“Keith was more precautionary. He’s such an important player and he was really stiff in the warm-up so we decided to pull him out.”
Meanwhile, van Graan said he was honoured to re-sign with the province for another two years, which has extended his contract until 2022.
The head coach took charge of the team in December 2017 when Rassie Erasmus took on the role of head coach with his native South Africa. He says it was an easy decision to extend his deal.
“You’ve always got to look at the future and my family and I have settled in very well in Limerick and we’ve enjoyed Munster,” said van Graan.
“I know this is professional sport and my contract was due at the end of next season. When Munster Rugby said they wanted to keep me here and I gave it a lot of thought with my family and [am] delighted to stay.
“The very first day I said this is about Munster, not about me, so I’d like to keep it that way and I’m very fortunate to work with incredible players and incredible management staff and everyone working at Munster. The Munster supporters have been very good to me and it’s great to be associated with Munster Rugby.”
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
Van Graan extends Munster deal by a further two years
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Heineken Champions Cup Joey Carbery major doubt Munster