Mixed injury news for Connacht ahead of Leinster clash

Connacht will be able to call upon Jack Carty and Dave Heffernan for this weekend's United Rugby Championship Interpro with Leinster at the Sportsground.

The duo look set to go straight back into the line-up for the visit of the league leaders on Saturday (live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player), but fellow internationals Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham are to be rested.

Andy Friend's side have also been given some mixed injury news, with confirmation that hooker Shane Delahunt has been ruled out until the end of the season, after having surgery on a hamstring injury suffered in the most recent outing against Edinburgh.

Connacht will also be without Alex Wootton and Tietie Tuimauga due to respective foot and calf issues, although both players are expected to return to training inside the next fortnight.

In better news, second row Gavin Thornbury could make his return from 10 months on the sidelines.

The 28-year-old hasn't played since May of last year, having had a series of shoulder issues, but the province have confirmed he is finally back in full training.

The 6ft 7in had been spoken of as a potential Test player before undergoing surgery towards the end of last season, which his head coach says they initially believed would only keep him out until August.

However, a number of complications saw his rehab stalled, with Thornbury's last outing having been against Leinster in early May.

"The reason we got it done early was so he could have the pre-season and be ready for game one," Friend said of Thornbury's surgery last summer.

"As we know now he had other complications. Gav being Gav, he stuck to the task, he's continued to bounce in here every day and worked really hard, and it's great to see him out there now and competing