Muldoon injury blow for Connacht

Connacht have been hit by the news that captain John Muldoon will miss the province's fixtures over the Christmas period after suffering a broken arm in the defeat to Harlequins on Friday night.

Muldoon suffered the injury in the dying stages of a 15-9 defeat which put an end to any hopes Eric Elwood’s side had of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Muldoon injured his right arm during the encounter, the same arm that he broke while playing for Ireland against New Zealand during the summer tour of the southern hemisphere.

The year old will miss Connacht’s games against Munster, Leinster and the Dragons over the Christmas and joins an injury list that includes Ray Ofisa, who is not expected to be back until late January and Johnny O’Connor and Michael Swift, who both sustained injuries on Friday night.

Eric Elwood can take some solace in the fact that Gavin Duffy, who missed the game on Friday night, should be fit in time for the clash with Munster on St. Stephen’s Day, while O’Connor and Swift also have a chance of taking part.