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Leinster's Fergus McFadden ruled out of Champions Cup final

Fergus McFadden will miss the rest of the season but there is better news elsewhere for Leinster
Fergus McFadden will miss the rest of the season but there is better news elsewhere for Leinster

Leinster's Fergus McFadden will miss the Champions Cup final against Racing 92 on Saturday after being ruled out for the season with a hamstring injury.

The Ireland winger suffered the injury in the act of scoring Leinster's third try in the semi-final win over Scarlets.

The versatile back dived over in the corner to stretch Leinster's lead to 13 points but was forced to hobble out of the game immediately afterwards. 

"It's a huge blow for him," said senior coach Stuart Lancaster.

"He played so well and fought his way back into form and fought his way into the team in a really competitive position.

"We're blessed we've got a lot of players in that position but we're really disappointed for him."

But scrum-half Luke McGrath has recovered from the ankle injury that prevented him featuring in the semi-final and will train fully this week ahead of the final clash with the Top14 side. 

McGrath damaged his ankle in the quarter-final win over Saracens at the beginning of April and hasn't played in any games since. 

He was replaced by Jamison Gibson-Park for the semi-final but will be available for selection for Saturday's showdown in Bilbao. 

"We're pretty optimistic now," said Lancaster. "He trained last week on the Tuesday and the Wednesday and there's been no reaction to that.

"Having Luke come back into the equation, he's an experienced player, we've got some decisions to make there."

Jordi Murphy was also an injury worry but has recovered and will train fully this week.

Rhys Ruddock remains an injury doubt and will be closely monitored at training.

Lancaster said: "Rhys will see how today goes but he's made great progress. He's available [as it stands]."

Leinster will attempt to win their fourth European crown against the Parisian outfit on Saturday, with victory placing them joint-top with Toulouse in the competition roll of honour. 

Follow Leinster versus Racing 92 in the Champions Cup final via our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App from 4pm, or listen to live coverage on RTÉ Radio 1 as Saturday Sport comes from Bilbao.

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