Ulster's European Challenge Cup final hopes have taken a significant blow, with star centre Stuart McCloskey set to miss the decider due to a serious hamstring injury. The 33-year-old, who has been in outstanding form this season, picked up the problem during Ulster's semi-final victory over Exeter Chiefs and subsequently missed Friday's 38-38 draw with the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship after undergoing an MRI scan.
When asked about the severity of the injury, head coach Richie Murphy confirmed the grim prognosis: "That's what they're saying" regarding a potential four-to-six-week layoff. "He has a serious hamstring injury. Is he a doubt for the final? Absolutely. Does it look likely he will play? Probably not, but we will see where that ends up," Murphy added, leaving little room for optimism ahead of the Bilbao showdown against Montpellier.
The injury crisis doesn't end there for Ulster. Jacob Stockdale (facial fracture) and David McCann (knee) are also major doubts for the final after being injured in the same semi-final victory against the Chiefs. Adding to Murphy's headaches, captain Iain Henderson faces a disciplinary hearing after his initial yellow card for a croc-roll in the ruck against the Stormers was upgraded to a 20-minute red card. "Once you get a red card, that is not in our hands—you go to a judiciary. We'll wait and see what happens," Murphy said.
Meanwhile, Murphy admitted it was "hard to sum up" his emotions after the incident-packed draw with the Stormers, which saw 11 tries scored in an end-to-end thriller. The game ended in controversy when a late penalty try was awarded against Ulster, sparked by Nathan Doak's tackle on Stormers winger Leolin Zas. Initially, Doak appeared to have won the game by holding Zas up over the line, but upon review, he was penalized for shoulder-to-head contact, receiving a yellow card as the penalty try was awarded. A visibly frustrated Murphy commented: "You look at the collision—or the lack of collision—and you go, 'well, we can find at least another five occasions that that isn't looked at during the game.' So that's quite difficult to take. Is there head contact?"