Sean Cronin to miss Six Nations with a Grade Two hamstring

Leinster have confirmed that Sean Cronin has been ruled out for ten weeks with a Grade Two hamstring tear and will miss the Six Nations.

Cronin suffered the damage in the Pro12 clash against Zebre ten days ago.

“It’s quite a significant hamstring injury,” Stuart Lancaster said this afternoon.

“It’s a real shame for him as he’s actually playing great rugby but it’s a good opportunity for us to get him right and make sure we don’t get a recurrence of this because it must be hugely frustrating for him.

“He’s got himself into great form and now he’ll miss the Six Nations. He went to push-off and accelerate around the corner and saw it go. He’s deeply disappointed but he’ll be back a better player.”

Cronin’s unavailability will open the door for the likes of Niall Scannell, Dave Heffernan and James Tracy to push for a place in Schmidt’s squad behind captain Rory Best.