Lions stars return for Leinster

Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Sean O’Brien, Jack McGrath and Robbie Henshaw are all in line to start Leinster's Pro 14 game against Edinburgh at the RDS on Friday.

Sexton [wrist and ankle], Furlong [thumb], O'Brien [shoulder], McGrath and Henshaw [torn pectoral muscle] are expected to be fit for the game against Richard Cockerill's side.

"They should be good to go as long as they get through [training] today," forwards coachh Stuart Lancaster said on Monday.

"They're desperate to get going, they've watched players who were on the Lions tour come back with their clubs and getting back into action but rightly so they've been rested.

"Now they're ready to go, they've big games coming around the corner for us obviously and then November internationals. 

"We're very lucky really that the Lions players from Leinster contributed massively to the series. Robbie was unlucky with his injury but they were key players, weren't they?

"If they're key for the Lions, they're key for us."

However, captain Isa Nacewa will miss Friday's game with the calf injury he sustained in last week's defeat to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

"He got a kick on the calf in the lead up to the incident, that's probably a bigger contributing factor [than the long-haul flights to South Africa]," Lancaster said, when asked if three long-haul flights contributed to his injury.

"He had a scan last night and will get the results today. Usually with these things it’s a couple of weeks minimum, we'll keep our fingers crossed that we get him back right for Munster the Pro 14 game at the Aviva Stadium on 7 October]. We'll know more by the close of play."

James Ryan misses out with a foot injury, while Rob Kearney [hamstring], Dan Leavy [ankle], Jamie Heaslip [lower back], Richardt Strauss [knee], Tom Daly [knee], Peadar Timmins[quad] or Garry Ringrose [shoulder] are all doubts.

Image: Getty Images/ David Rogers

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