Awful news for Rhys Ruddock as hamstring injury set to rule him out for lengthy period

What a rotten piece of luck.

Just when Rhys Ruddock was absolutely flying it for province and country, an injury has befallen him that will sideline him for a number of months. The Leinster back-row tore his hamstring, and had to be assisted off the pitch, in his side's 18-8 victory over Exeter Chiefs. The tear is said to be significant and Ruddock will definitely miss the remainder of Leinster's Champions Cup pool games. The seriousness of the injury, reported by Des Berry to be a Grade 3 tear, may even cost Ruddock a place in Ireland's plans for the 2018 Six Nations. Leinster's senior coach Stuart Lancaster had previously noted that Ruddock would be out for a few weeks but a scan on the hamstring has shown the tear to be particularly bad [Grade 3 means half or more of the hamstring muscle has torn]. Leinster are holding a media conference this afternoon and will be providing an official update on Ruddock. The injury comes at a time when Ruddock was in the form of his rugby career. Having finished last season strongly, he was named Ireland captain for the tours to America and Japan. He then featured in all three of Ireland's Guinness Series matches and scored a try in the resounding win over South Africa. Having taken five years to accumulate six Test caps, Ruddock made 13 more appearances for Ireland over the past 21 months.