Leinster skills and kicking coach Richie Murphy has not ruled out British & Irish Lions flanker Sean O’Brien from making a return from injury before the end of the season.
It was thought that O’Brien, who started the Lions' final Test in Sydney last summer in place of injured captain Sam Warburton, would miss the rest of the season when he dislocated a shoulder in December.
However the surgery the following month appears to have been a success and O’Brien is nearing a return to full-time training with Leinster.
And while Murphy is not about to make any promises, he does believe that the Irishman is closer than ever to making a return.
“For Seanie, there’s no return date on him but he’s doing really well,” said Murphy.
“He isn’t training fully, he’s on modified training, but he’s not a million miles away from being back in the team environment.
“It is possible that he’ll play before the end of the season, but no decision has been made on that as yet.
“He’s back to see a specialist this week and the progress that he’s made has been really good. He’s not a million miles away from being back with us training properly.”
