'The worst injury I've had' - Mack Hansen targets May comeback

Mack Hansen bears no ill will over the injury that ruled him out of the Six Nations and is targeting a return to action before the end of the season.

The Ireland wing suffered a dislocated shoulder while playing for Connacht against Munster in the BKT United Rugby Championship at the start of the year.

"I'm kind of over halfway at the moment so maybe around May, hoping to get back," he told RTÉ Sport.

"Definitely before the end of the season but I'm not looking to push it, just looking to get it right and go from there.

"I’m itching to get back. [Watching from the sidelines] doesn’t get easier.

"You just want to be involved and play for your country. It’s why you play rugby, to get those opportunities to put the green jersey on. Being out is frustrating and it’s been tough, I’m not going to lie.

"I know there’s light at the end of the tunnel, so I’ll keep my head down and keep plugging along and get my shoulder back to near perfect and start playing rugby again."

Hansen (above) was attempting to poach the ball at a breakdown before Munster flanker John Hodnett appeared to come in from the side and clear out the Canberra man.

At the time, head coach Pete Wilkins suggested he was surprised the incident didn’t merit more scrutiny, more so given Connacht’s Byron Ralston was suspended for three matches for an attempted clear-out, which resulted in Jack O’Donoghue suffering a knee injury in the same game.

"It was pretty excruciating, pretty bad, it was out for a good while," the 25-year-old, who was pictured at Ireland training camp earlier in the week, said.

"It didn’t want to go back in for some reason. It was being a bit of a pain in the arse. Yeah, it was probably the worst injury I’ve had, to be honest.

"I’ve been lucky enough to