Irish rugby fans received some very bad news this morning, with it being revealed that Mack Hansen was set to miss the team's 2024 Six Nations campaign due to an injury he picked up during Connacht's victory over Munster last week.
The winger suffered a dislocated shoulder in the second half of the game, which the home side would go on to win 22-9 in Galway. However, the result would come at a cost after it was confirmed that Hansen was set to miss up to four months as a result of the injury.
We can confirm Mack Hansen will unfortunately have shoulder surgery today and is expected to be unavailable for 3-4 months.
A tough blow for him at this time of the season. All the best in your recovery Mack 💚
Full squad update: https://t.co/3omKRThae3#ConnachtRugby pic.twitter.com/8WsdZqLER2— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) January 8, 2024
This means that the 25-year old will miss the entirety of the Six Nations, while he will also be in a race to be fit for the tail-end of Connacht's campaign.
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Connacht have questions over incident that led to Mack Hansen injury
The injury picked up by Mack Hansen was an incredibly unfortunate one, although some have question about the incident that led to the issue.
It occurred in the second half of the game against Munster, with John Hodnett producing a heavy hit on the Ireland winger as he attempted to produce a turnover at the ruck.
The incident went unpunished at the time, while Hodnett was not cited after the game.
Mack Hansen out for three to four months. This is what happened, there was no penalty, yellow card or citing. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/t5at2jsOR3
— Rob Murphy (@murphyrob) January 8, 2024
Some have questioned whether the clear-out should have led to further punishment, especially in light of Mack Hansen's injury.
Speaking about Hansen's problem, Connacht coach Pete Wilkins admitted that his side were surprised that the incident was not reviewed further by the authorities.
We were surprised there wasn't at least further scrutiny on the clear-out to be brutally honest but if the citing officer decides that it's not at least a discussion level of being a possible red card then there's no further we can take it.
Byron Ralston was cited and we had a hearing for him on Friday and the URC are yet to announce the outcome of that.
Connacht player Byron Ralston was given a yellow card for a ruck clear-out on Jack O'Donoghue during the game, with many feeling he was fortunate to avoid a red card at the time. That incident has resulted in a citing for the offending player.
In any case, this Mack Hansen news is a big blow to all Irish rugby fans.
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