Conor Murray Provides Update On His Fitness

Conor Murray has provided a positive update on his fitness after a frustrating few weeks.

The Munster scrumhalf has not played a game since being replaced by Kieran Marmion in Ireland’s loss to Wales at the Principality back in March. He has missed Munster’s last six games, including their Champions Cup semi-final loss.

His injury was initially thought to be minor, but complications arose with nerve damage in his neck. Lions coach Warren Gatland revealed last month that Murray must get some game time in before they jet off to New Zealand, and the Patrickswell man is confident he will.

“I’d be very, very confident that I’ll play rugby before we depart,” Murray explained today.

Whether or not he will play a part in Munster’s game against Connacht remains to be seen, but we should expect to see him in time for the PRO12 semi-final.

“I’m good, finally,” Murray said at an event in Dublin to relaunch Maximuscle in Ireland.

“I’ve been training with the lads for the last couple of weeks and trained Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

“I’ve been doing gradual return to play contact and yesterday did full contact, tackling people and taking proper hits, getting tackled myself and feeling pretty good. So hopefully I’ll be playing really soon. Potentially I’ll be involved this weekend, we’ll wait and see how we go.

“It is and it was a day by day thing, you have to wait and see how you react the next day after you exercise and it’s been really good. So I’ve got my strength back and it’s a case of taking contact and not being worried about taking contact, which I haven’t been for the last week or two.

“So pretty positive, yeah.”

Just what Munster and Lions fans wanted to hear.

[Irish Examiner]