One of Ireland's most promising young prop forwards has been dealt a hammer blow in his first match back from a serious knee injury which has kept him sidelined since early last season.
Connacht prop Ronan Loughney tore a cruciate knee ligament in the dying moments of last night's pre-season friendly against Narbonne in France.
This is the second time the Galway native has torn the cruciate knee ligament in his right knee after suffering the first setback just days after his 21st birthday last November.
Loughney, who has been capped at U-19 and U-21 international levels, suffered the injury in the final segment of play against Narbonne on Saturday night.
The game, in which the sides shared ten tries with Narbonne winning in the end by 35-29, was just about to finish when Loughney was in a collision.
'It is a terrible blow. Ronan has worked so hard to get back from the same injury last year. He displayed great dedication and commitment to recover from that one and I have no doubt he will do the same again,' said Connacht coach Michael Bradley.
Loughney, then on a development contract, made his debut for Connacht when he came on in the Celtic League against Edinburgh at Murrayfield last September but his season came to a halt when he was injured in November.
A player with the ability to play both tighthead and loosehead, he is a valuable commodity at a time when there is such a shortage of quality Irish props, and Loughney recently signed a two-year full-time contract with Connacht.
The Galwegians clubman was tighthead prop on the Irish U-21 team at the World Cup in Argentina last season.
'Ronan is a dedicated professional and while I know this is a very
disappointing setback for him, he has what it takes to bounce back and I look forward to the day when he will be fit again because he is a quality prop,' added Bradley.
Connacht ran in five tries from Paul Warwick (2), Matt Mostyn, Daniel Riordan and Matt Lacey, but having led 19-14 at the break, were pipped by a three-try salvo by the home side.
