DONNACHA RYAN IS set to make his Munster comeback in tomorrow’s Guinness Pro12 clash with the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium, more than 11 months after last playing for the province.
The 31-year-old second row has been named on the replacements bench by head coach Anthony Foley as the league leaders face into an away trip to the fifth-placed Ospreys tomorrow [KO 14.40, Sky Sports].
Ryan’s most recent appearance for Munster came on 22 March of last year, when he started at blindside flanker in a 14-3 win over Treviso. The Tipperary man has struggled badly with a rare toe injury ever since.
28-times capped Ireland international Ryan underwent surgery on the injury last September, after an extensive rehabilitation programme had failed to clear the issue. His graded return to training in recent weeks has now seen him gain the fitness required to return to Munster’s match day 23.
Ryan started all five games of the 2013 Six Nations for Ireland, but hasn’t featured in the international arena since due to his injury problems.
Meanwhile, Foley has brought Dave Kilcoyne, Donncha O’Callaghan and Felix Jones into his starting XV to face the Ospreys tomorrow, with Jones selected on the right wing after being released from Ireland camp by Joe Schmidt.
The in-form Keith Earls retains the 13 shirt for this fixture.
Munster
15. JJ Hanrahan
14. Felix Jones
13. Keith Earls
12. Denis Hurley (captain)
11. Ronan O’Mahony
10. Ian Keatley
9. Duncan Williams
1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Eusebio Guinazu
3. BJ Botha
4. Donncha O’Callaghan
5. Billy Holland
6. Dave O’Callaghan
7. Sean Dougall
8. CJ Stander
Replacements:
16. Kevin O’Byrne
17. John Ryan
18. Stephen Archer
19. Donnacha Ryan
20. Jack O’Donoghue
21. Neil Cronin
22. Andrew Smith
23. Andrew Conway
Ospreys
15. Dan Evans
14. Tom Grabham
13. Jonathan Spratt
12. Josh Matavesi
11. Hanno Dirksen
10. Sam Davies
9. Tom Habberfield
1. Ryan Bevington
2. Scott Otten
3. Aaron Jarvis
4. Lloyd Peers
5. Tyler Ardron
6. James King
7. Justin Tipuric (captain)
8. Dan Baker
Replacements:
16. Matthew Dwyer
17. Nicky Smith
18. Dmitri Arhip
19. Rory Thornton
20. Olly Cracknell
21. Morgan Allen
22. Martin Roberts
23. Ben John
That “contaminated Mexican beef” really gets around, doesn’t it?…