Season-ending injury a huge blow to Connacht’s Champions Cup ambitions

Terrible news for the Connacht star.

Connacht are to continue their push for Champions Cup qualification when they face the Glasgow Warriors in Scotstoun on Saturday. The western province, after suffering a disappointing start to the season, have picked it up of late and have won their last four PRO12 fixtures. This winning streak has left Pat Lam's side just seven points off Glasgow who are in sixth position but with one team from each participating nation guaranteed a Champions Cup spot, it looks like Connacht are set for a playoff against a French and an English team. Unfortunately for Connacht, they have been dealt with a massive blow in their hopes of achieving this difficult ambition. The club have confirmed that Ultan Dillane will miss the rest of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. The Kerryman had trouble with an ongoing shoulder issue which limited him to only two substitute appearances against Scotland and Italy. Surgery was deemed the best course of action but unfortunately, it means the towering lock will play no part in the rest of the season. Connacht have also revealed a number of other players who have suffered injuries recently or who are unavailable for other reasons.

• Nepia Fox-Matamua suffered an ACL injury and will undergo surgery next week.
• Peter Robb suffered a hip injury in a club game and will be unavailable for up to four weeks.
• Matt Healy injured his hand in training and will be out for 4-6 weeks.
• Marnitz Boshoff has returned to South Africa after the sudden passing of his father.