Declan Kidney announces his Six Nations squad later today and it looks like Leo Culen will be the big absentee.
The Leinster lock is, according to today’s Irish Daily Star, set to miss the next 10 weeks as he jets off to Sweden for surgery on both Achilles tendons.
The Leinster captain has apparently been playing through the pain barrier to secure his sides passage through the Heineken Cup but he will head to Sweden next week for what is described as a “ground-breaking” operation on his troublesome tendons.
Cullen was unlikely to start in the Six Nations but with Brian O’Driscoll already out, the loss of another experienced leader in the dressing room is a blow to Kidney and it weakens his options off the bench.
Cullen and Leinster hope that the giant second-row will be back in time for the province’s Heineken Cup quarter-final on the first weekend of April.
Kidney names his 23-man ‘first-team’ squad for the tournament at lunchtime, with six others also included as back-ups but oficially they are part of the squad. An Irish Wolfhound ‘A’ team of 23 players will also be named.
Check back here for the announcement and all the latest news on the team later today.
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