Heineken Cup - Round 6
Leinster hopeful over key duo
ESPNscrum Staff
January 18, 2012
Leinster's Jonathan Sexton hands off Bath's Ryan Caldwell, Bath v Leinster, Heineken Cup, The Rec, Bath, England, December 11, 2011
Jonathan Sexton has established himself as a key player in Leinster's side © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Sean Cronin | Luke Fitzgerald | Johnny Sexton
Tournaments/Tours: Heineken Cup
Teams: Ireland | Leinster

Reigning Heineken Cup champions Leinster are confident that key duo Jonathan Sexton and Luke Fitzgerald will be fit in time to face Montpellier on Saturday.

Leinster have already qualified for the knockout stages of the competition with four wins and a draw to their name in Pool 3 but they will be aiming for maximum points against Montpellier when they travel to the RDS to secure that all-important home quarter-final. And according to a statement on their website, both Sexton and Fitzgerald should recover from knocks in time for the match.

"Jonathan Sexton rolled his ankle in the first half and will be further monitored this week, the Leinster statement read. "The Ireland out-half completed the game with his first half penalty taking him past the 700 career point mark (Sexton's tally now stands at 702 points in 85 games) and at this point it appears likely that he will be available.

"The Leinster management are also hopeful that Luke Fitzgerald, who missed the victory in Glasgow with a combination of a glute/minor neck strain, will also be in the frame. There is a further boost for the province with the expected return from injury of forwards Kevin McLaughlin (neck), Richardt Strauss (facial) and Steven Sykes (hamstring) who should all be in the selection mix this week."

And hooker Sean Cronin is fully aware of the threat the Top 14 runners-up pose after their Round 1 draw in Montpellier. "A home quarter-final is crucial and every team at the top of their Pool will be targeting that, but we're facing another incredibly hard game against Montpellier this weekend," Cronin said. "They were extremely tough over there and we struggled a small bit before coming back into the game in the final 20 minutes. We got the draw and were lucky to do so."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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