Leinster to make late call on Tadhg Furlong and Johnny Sexton ahead of Gloucester game

Leinster will make a late call on Tadhg Furlong and Johnny Sexton's fitness ahead of Friday’s Heineken Champions Cup tie with Gloucester.

The pair missed Leinster's 42-10 victory over Racing 92 due to calf and ankle injuries respectively.

Both players have increased their training load as they close in on a return to action and Leinster said a final decision will be made later this week.

"They’ve both been running today," Leinster assistant coach Robin McBryde told RTÉ Sport on Monday. "We’re going to have to monitor how they go.

"We’ve got to step up the intensity, add the different layers, and just keep on monitoring them.

"They’re both really keen to get back involved, as anyone would be when the team is going particularly well. We’ll just keep an eye on them."

Leinster reported no fresh injury concerns from the win against Racing, with Charlie Ngatai playing 71 minutes on his return from a shoulder injury.

Gloucester also began their campaign with a victory against French opposition, having rallied from 12 points down to beat Bordeaux-Bègles 22-17.

McBryde said Gloucester will pose a different challenge compared to Racing, with the English Premiership side boasting a strong set-piece and mauling game.

"They'll have taken quite a bit of confidence out of that," said McBryde of their comeback against Bordeaux. "When you finish a game on a high that tends to carry on into the next game as well.

"I’m sure they’ll be buoyed by that. They showed quite a bit of resilience to come back from 17-5 down.

"They look at the game slightly differently to Racing. Racing have Finn Russell, they pose quite a bit of threat. Gloucester have a strong set-piece and are a very good mauling team.

"The challenge is going to be a bit different. We’ll