Leo Cullen says Leinster must wait and see how injuries to James Lowe and Ryan Baird settle down ahead of their Champions Cup semi-final clash with Toulouse or Sharks.
The duo were injured in the 55-24 quarter-final victory over Leicester Tigers, with Baird suffering what looked like a painful shoulder injury and Lowe a calf problem.
“(Baird went off) with his shoulder, I’m not sure exactly, but we’ll see, hopefully he’s not too bad," said Cullen. "But we’ll see how that settles down" said head coach Cullen..
READ MORE: Leinster coast to Champions Cup semi-finals with win over Leicester
“James Lowe went off with his calf as well, so we will see how he is. That’s the challenge isn’t it? Physical games.
"You have to be able to deal with that. It’s a 23-man game and I thought our guys, the bench all added in their different ways, which was good.
“Overall we are pleased to be through to the next round.”
The Blues boss confirmed Baird's injury was different to the shoulder issue he suffered earlier in the season against Sharks, and likewise he said that Lowe's problem was not connected to previous calf issues he has had.
Cullen also said that Robbie Henshaw had not suffered an injury. "Robbie was OK, just feeling a bit of tightness at half-time," he said. "It was a physical game."
The Leinster supremo also paid tribute to Garry Ringrose, who scored two tries in a stellar return after the head injury he suffered against Scotland.
“He was phenomenal really, wasn’t he, some of the things he does in the game,” Cullen enthused. “His ability to beat defenders, some of his lines of running. He was exceptional, I thought.”
Tigers boss Richard Wigglesworth believes it will take a special team to beat Leinster, who are into their sixth semi-final in the last seven years in this competition.
But he warns they must seize their chance having failed to do that at times before.
In fact, former scrum-half Wigglesworth was in the Saracens set-up when they beat the Blues in the 2019 final and also prevailed in the 2020 quarter-final - Leinster's last defeat at the Aviva Stadium.
“Thirty points, big enough gulf," he said. "They were the better team today, an outstanding team who are quite rightly favourites to lift the trophy.
“What do you reckon in terms of bridging the gap? One, they are an outstanding team with quality internationals and quality coaches that have been together a long time.
"None of that is in question but the gulf is in what you have available to spend. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong. I’m not asking to spend more money. I’m just being clear.
“They have earned their home advantage and with the fans here. It will take a special team to beat them but they have only won it once in 11 years so there have been teams that have popped up and beaten them. They’ve got to go and win it.”
The final scoreline was emphatic but Wigglesworth felt that his side were well in the game when the Tigers were 17-10 down and Leinster lost Caelan Doris to the sin-bin in the 46th minute.
Instead, Leinster won the next 10 minutes 10-0, even winning a scrum penalty with a seven-man scrum.
“We were in the contest at 50 minutes, a seven-point ball game, they are down to 14 and we make some errors, give away some penalties and then they were clinical in that period and we weren’t," he said.
"The game gets away from you against these boys and they can score points quickly and we have to look after a few lads knowing what’s coming.
“No heads dropped. No way. Give me an example of heads dropping. Did we make errors? Did we get put under pressure? Yeah.”
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