It was looking rather bleak for Sean Cronin's Champions Cup final prospects when he limped off the field during Leinster's semi-final clash with Toulouse, but there may be some positive news on the horizon for the Leinster hooker.
Cronin picked up a calf injury in the game at the Aviva Stadium but rehabilitation has been going well, meaning there's still a chance the Leinster man will line out for the province against Saracens in Newcastle this Saturday.
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Stuart Lancaster, the province's senior coach, was on media duty at today's press conference in Dublin, and the English man provided a positive update on Cronin's progress.
However, he stopped short of guaranteeing the hooker's involvement in the the European decider at St James' Park.
He said:
Obviously it's a calf injury. We're planning on doing a session today and then tomorrow we've got a full training session. He might take part in that depending on how today goes. But we're pretty optimistic that he'll be right.
We'll definitely give him until Thursday because he's such an important player.
Rhys Ruddock, meanwhile, looks set to play a part in this weekend's game, while both Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park will miss out through injury.
Likewise, Saracens boss Mark McCall has claimed his team are "actually pretty healthy" ahead of Saturday's showdown. Mako Vunipola was spotted in a protective boot at the weekend, but that is now believed to have been nothing more than a precautionary measure for an ankle injury sustained in a previous game against Wasps.
As Leinster received a week off last weekend, McCall also decided to give his major players a week off as his side secured a comprehensive victory over Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.
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