Leinster’s Tadhg Furlong ruled out of Scarlets game but expected to be fit for Lions tour
Daire Walsh
He will be marked absent for Leinster’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final clash against Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday (kick-off 3pm), but Tadhg Furlong is not expected to be a doubt for this summer’s British & Irish Lions squad.
After being troubled by a calf injury for a number of weeks, Furlong was restricted to a solitary outing for Ireland in the 2025 edition of the Six Nations Championship – as a 47th minute replacement in a final round victory away to Italy on March 15.
He subsequently made four appearances for Leinster across the URC and the European Champions Cup, before being selected by Lions head coach Andy Farrell for the forthcoming Tour of Australia earlier this month.
Yet despite being named on the bench for Leinster’s most recent competitive fixture against Glasgow Warriors in the URC at the Aviva on May 17, he remained in reserve for the duration of the contest and it was revealed in a squad bulletin earlier today that he will miss the visit of Scarlets to south Dublin this weekend with another calf issue.
However, Furlong’s latest injury is a minor one and it also isn’t the same calf that was causing him trouble back in the spring. It is entirely possible the Wexford native could line out for Leinster again in the current term – provided they overcome the challenge of Scarlets this weekend – and he also remains in line to feature on his third consecutive Lions Tour.
Meanwhile, having suffered a knee injury in the aforementioned clash with Glasgow last Saturday week, Leinster’s international centre Robbie Henshaw has been ruled out for the next three or four weeks and will therefore be missing for the remainder of the province’s season. Yet he is expected to be back running towards the end of this period and in addition to remaining in the frame for Ireland’s summer tests against Georgia and Portugal, he is still considered to be a standby option for the Lions tour.
In better news for Leinster, Jordan Larmour is expected to step up the final stages of his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury he picked up in early January and a final decision will be made on his availability for the Scarlets game later on in the week.