Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says Ryan Baird will follow the graduated return to play protocols, but is "OK", after a suffering a nasty fall during this evening's 54-34 win against Sharks in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Baird landed on his head after an aerial collision with both Thaakir Abrahams and Boeta Chamberlain of the Sharks in the 50th minute of the game, and was carted off the field after receiving lengthy treatment by medics.
"He's OK, but it was a nasty enough fall," Cullen said, when asked for an update after the game.
"I was chatting to him there, and he's OK, and we'll make sure he goes through the graduated return to play."
The sides shared 13 tries in a breathless game of rugby, but it was also a sobering evening for the wider game. As well as Baird, Luke McGrath and Rhys Ruddock also departed the game for head injury assessments.
Captain Johnny Sexton called for referee Craig Evans to refer Baird's case to the TMO for potential foul play, but Cullen wouldn't be drawn on whether or not the incident should be looked at further, saying he will go through the regular channels with the match officials in the coming days.
The win sees Leinster continue their 100% record through four games, with 19 points from a possible 20 so far.
While they eventually won by 20 points, they were given a real test by the Sharks for the opening hour, before eventually pulling clear in the final quarter.
The visitors even led 20-14 at one stage in the opening half, after tries from Abrahams, Aphelele Fassi and Werner Kok, and Cullen said he was impressed with his players for how they navigated their way through a difficult game.
"I thought we started with good intent, the guys did a decent week's work.
"We prepared well for this game, we knew it would be a good challenge, the Sharks have that bit of cohesion and togetherness off the back of two wins, and with Noel [McNamara] coming back here, there were lots of factors we were concerned about.
"They tested us out, and I thought the way we responded, scoring some great tries. There are lots of positive things in the game."
The defeat was the first of the season for the Sharks, with the South African franchises enjoying a far better start to this season than last term, recording a combined 11 wins from 13 games.
And Cullen says those improvements will only make the league stronger.
"It's a totally different ball game we're up against in this competition.
"The South African teams have picked up wins. Even the Lions, who would have lost a lot of players to the likes of the Sharks, they picked up wins on the road, so they're circling.
"It's created a totally different dynamic to the competition."
