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Ireland
**08/01/03 Leinster's Irish international pair Denis Hickie and Girvan Dempsey will undergo fitness tests today as the Irish province prepare to announce their sqaud to play Swansea in Round 5. Teh squad will be named on Thurday January 9
**06/01/03 Ulster have injury problems following their Celtic league semi-final defeat by Munster, Warren Brosnihan (broken hand) and Justin Fitzpatrick (concussion) will not be fit to play against Cardiff in Round 5 of the Heineken Cup.
**06/01/03 Munster will be without their international lock Paul O'Connell for the next six weeks after he broke his thumb in the 42-10 Celtic League semi-final victory over Ulster at Thomond Park on Friday night.
Although the 23-year-old completed the game, the injury was diagnosed as a break after the game and he had a plaster cast put on straight away.
He is expected to be in plaster for two weeks and take up to six weeks to recover fully from the injury. O'Connell will miss his side's final two crucial Heineken Cup games against Perpignan and Gloucester over the next two weeks. He will also miss the Celtic League final at the Millennium Stadium on 1 February.
And Munster have lost the services of Anthony Horgan with a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury. Munster coach Alan Gaffney says the wing will defiantly miss the game against Perpignan.
Italy
**06/01/02 Viadana captain Matt Philips returns after an elbow injury to face Gloucester at Kingsholm. However casualties in the team's 39-5 victory over Marchiol Silea at the weekend include prop Lorenzo Bocchini and flanker Andrea Benatti who both picked up ankle injuries. While Bocchini will be out for three weeks, Benatti should be fit to face Perpignan in Round 6. Also missing is Richard Denhardt who has a broken finger on his right hand.
England
**08/01/03 Bristol Shoguns welcome back Saul Nelson to the squad for Round 5 Nelson has missed the last few matches with a perforated eardrum and a virus.
**08/01/03 Gloucester's James Simpson-Daniel looks set for return to action when his side face Viadana in round 5. The 20 year old England wing has not played since the Cherries beat Viadana 80-28 in Round 2. However he has now recoved from the glandular fever that has kept him sidelined for two monthes.
**03/01/03 Gloucester and England prop Trevor Woodman is out until end of February after injuring a disc in his neck during a training session and has had to undergo surgery
**02/01/03 London Irish will be without club captain Ryan Strudwick for three months. The South African tore ankle ligaments in his sides 20-0 victory over Newcastle Falcons in the Zurich Premiership on December 29.
X-Rays revealed there was no break as first feared, but the torn ligaments mean Strudwick will wear a protective cast for at least four weeks.
Irish, who still have an outside chance of quarter-final qualification, will miss the influential second-row in their final Pool matches against Edinbugh and Toulouse.
**17/12/02 Sale and England fly-half Charlie Hodgson, who missed all the Sharks Heineken Cup games this season, including the double defeat at the hands of Llanelli in Rounds 3 and 4, is set for a return to action this weekend as he is named in Sale's squad for the Powergen Cup sixth round tie with Saracens at Vicarage Road. Hodgson has been absent for 11 weeks with a knee injury.
Hodgson's return is timely with Sale searching for thier first win in the Heineken Cup. He should be back in time for the Sharks Round 5 match with Glasgow Rugby on January 10.
**13/12/02 Gloucester centre Robert Todd has been diagnosed with gastroenteritis.
The 31-year-old played the full 80 minutes against Perpignan in Gloucester's Heineken Cup 31-23 defeat on Saturday, but collapsed after the game.
However he took part in a light training session before returning to France.
He was given oxygen and on the team's arrival at Birmingham airport he was taken off on a stretcher and admitted to Solihull Hospital.
Wales
**07/01/03 Neath backrower Hywel Jenkins has been ruled out of his side's Celtic League final against Munster on February 1 at the Millennium Stadium.
Jenkins, a Wales A international, is likely to miss the remainder of the season after dislocating his shoulder in the quarter-final win at Pontypridd in late November.
He has now had his arm put in a sling and Neath's assistant coach Kevin George said: 'Hywel has been unable to move his arm for six weeks because of the shoulder problem. He was as effective as anyone in the victory over Pontypridd and is one of the best ball-carriers in Welsh rugby.'
With Jenkins also losing any chance of pressing for a Wales spot in the Six-Nations, Neath had to use
36-year-old former international Rowland Phillips, now their forwards coach, as a back-row replacement in last Saturday's Celtic League semi-final win over Cardiff.
**04/01/03 Swansea fullback Kevin Morgan sustained a leg injury against Llanelli, and seems set to miss his side's remaining Heineken Cup matches.
**26/12/02 Cardiff forward Greg Woods has recovered from a rib cartilage injury sustained on 22 November, and will be available for their next Heineken Cup game in Round 5.
**26/12/02 Newport's injury problems continue as they build up to Round 5. Forwards Simon Raiwalui and Ian Gough are unavailable for the Black and Ambers Welsh Premiership matches over the chrismtas period with injuries.
**15/12/02 Not only did Newport suffer a heavy defeat to London Irish, they also lost three players with injury.
Prop Chris Anthony (achilles), outside half Shane Howarth (shoulder), and centre Andy Marinos (dead leg).
None of the injuries are reported as serious, and the players should be fit for selection for Round 5 of the Heineken Cup in mid January.
**15/12/02 Llanelli No.8 Scott Quinnell left the match against Sale Sharks with a slight rib injury, he is expected to return in time for Round 5.
France
**07/01/03 Good news for Biarritz is that they will have winger Philippe Bernat-Salles (hand), center Jack Isaac (back) and N°8 Thomas Lià¨vremont (shoulder) in the squad against Northampton.
**07/01/03 Bourgoin Flanker Sébastien Chabal will not be in the squad to play against Llanelli in round 5
**07/01/03 Toulouse wing Cédric Heymans has failed a fitness tets and will not play against Newport.
**06/01/02 Biarritz Olyimpque centre John Isaaac will miss his side's Round 5 battle with Northampton Saints with a reoccurence of a back injury.
**27/12/02 Toulouse No.8 Isotolo Maka has broken a bone in his left ankle and will be out for at least three months, ruling him out of the remaining Pool matches.
**15/12/02 Montferrand prop Delpuech was hospitalized in Dublin because of an allergic reaction to a medicine he had taken before the game against Leinster. He began having trouble during the first half of the game and was replaced by Davit Ashvétia.
Delpuech collapsed soon after, and was admitted to a Dublin hospital where he spent the night. He returned to Montferrand on Saturday to undergo medical examinations. The results of tests are expected shortly.
**15/12/02 Toulouse lock David Gérard twisted badly his knee in second half of the game against Edinburgh. He will be out for six weeks.
Scotland
**24/12/02 Glasgow Rugby's Jason White is expected to be fit for Round 5 of the Heineken Cup. The Scotland forward has recovered from concussion after injury in the November international against Fiji.
