Heineken Cup
O'Driscoll fit for Heineken Cup final
ESPN Staff
May 18, 2012
Leinster centre Brian O'Driscoll races through to score, Leinster v Cardiff Blues, Heineken Cup, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, April 7, 2012
Brian O'Driscoll returns to Leinster's starting line-up © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Brian O'Driscoll
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Brian O'Driscoll will start for Leinster in the Heineken Cup final on Saturday after recovering from a knee injury.

The 33-year-old was a major doubt ahead of the match against Ulster at Twickenham after missing his side's RaboDirect PRO12 semi-final victory over Glasgow on Saturday night due to a twisted knee. But the centre has now been passed fit for Leinster's bid to retain the trophy and returns to the starting line-up along with Ireland fullback Rob Kearney, who has recovered from a back injury.

Earlier in the week, O'Driscoll told the Irish Times: "I went and had a little trim of the cartilage done on Friday morning. I suppose in my head it was never an option not to be playing this weekend. Recovery has gone well over the weekend. You'd want to have a limb falling off really to not play in the Heineken Cup final.

"A big part of weeks like this is about resting up and keeping your feet up on the couch. Sometimes you feel guilty for doing that, but that's part of your job: making sure that you're fully rested and ready for Saturday. There's no point in playing out the game beforehand, it's about this week culminating in 80 minutes come Saturday afternoon and nothing else."

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