Irish prop Cian Healy senses Leinster’s best is just around the corner if they can eradicate what the injured star calls “stupid mistakes”.

The performances of the three-time Heineken Cup winners have been the subject of intense scrutiny this season, but Healy is confident that Matt O’Connor’s charges can bounce back from last week’s defeat to the Aviva Premiership outfit Harlequins at The Stoop.

“It’s just a matter of cutting out those stupid mistakes. We threw a few silly passes and missed a few easy tackles. That’s probably a focus thing, and something we have to have mentally right during the week,” Healy remarked.

“That’s something that’s simple enough to fix, and you can see a completely different team coming out on the pitch next week.”

The 2014/15 campaign has been a frustrating one so far for Healy, who hasn’t featured since the September 19 Guinness Pro12 defeat to Connacht because of an aggravating hamstring injury. Having also missed out on Ireland’s memorable Guinness Series victories, Healy is itching for a return to the Blues’ front-row.

“I’ve missed out on a lot of them. European, International and the Guinness Series. Getting back to running now is that little bit of light that I get to see and hopefully I’ll get back to playing soon.

“I ran today [Monday] for the first time, and that went quite well. I’ll run tomorrow and a few more times this week, and then hopefully on the pitch next week to get into a bit of agility and movement and start practicing scrummaging again. It will hopefully be a four or five-week period before I’m back.”

With 134 provincial appearances (and 47 international caps) to his name, it is clear why the absence of the Clontarf native would be keenly felt by both O’Connor and Joe Schmidt.

However, the emergence of players like Jack McGrath, Ed Byrne and Marty Moore has increased the competition for places at the front of the Leinster scrum, and Healy is fully aware a swift return to the starting line-up is by no means guaranteed.

“We’ve all worked as a big unit with the propping system. I know the talent that’s in the lads. In Jack [McGrath] and Ed Byrne, so there’s a lot of pressure coming through. You’d expect them to be at a high enough level that it’s going to be putting you off your own game a bit.

“I know nothing less than 100% coming back will do, and it’s nice to have that in your head. To not just settle for being able to play, but it’s being able to play at the top of your game.”