Leinster welcome Ulster 'shot across bow' as they wait on Garry Ringrose fitness update

Garry Ringrose, Charles Ngatai and Tommy O'Brien face a race to be fit for Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup final against Toulouse on Saturday.

Ireland centre Ringrose has not played since an appearance as a substitute in the Six Nations win over Scotland in March as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

Prior to that he had last played for Leinster at the end of January.

"Garry will continue to be assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his involvement against Toulouse," said the province, looking to equal Toulouse’s record of five European Cup wins.

The 29-year-old (below) was pictured smiling at Leinster’s training session in UCD on Monday afternoon and assistant coach Robin McBryde was asked about the co-captain’s workload.

"The medical team, they’re probably just stepping things up. To what intensity I couldn’t tell you but it’s step-by-step and just assessing it as he goes," said the former Wales international.

Backs Ngatai and O’Brien picked up shoulder and hamstring injuries, respectively, in Saturday's 23-21 URC defeat to Ulster, and the duo will be assessed during the week.

Lock James Ryan, full-back Hugo Keenan and flanker Will Connors all came through the game with no issues upon their returns from injury.

Saturday’s match-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (2.45pm, live on RTÉ) will be Leinster’s third Champions Cup final in a row.

They lost the last two by one score to La Rochelle.

"We’ve had to work bloody hard to get here again," added McBryde.

"There’s a lot of good teams in the competition and we’ve had to fight to get to this stage.

"If we wanted a reminder that it’s not going to be handed to us on a plate then Ulster gave us that little reminder at the weekend.

"It was good to