Leo Cullen sends heartfelt message to Sean O’Brien after semi final victory

The flanker has only started 18 Leinster games in the last three seasons and he is unlikely to feature again this season.

Leinster have reached the final of the Champions Cup without Sean O'Brien, Josh van der Flier, Jamie Heaslip or Rhys Ruddock in their back row. Jordi Murphy, who started at No.8, is off to Ulster next season. For a normal club, that should see them missing out on the end-of-season trophies being handed out. Leinster are not a normal club, however. The province continues to deliver quality back-rows at a rate of knots. Jack Conan came back from injury and tore off the bench to make a big impact in the closing stages of Leinster's 38-16 Champions Cup semi-final win over Scarlets. Next season will see Peader Timmins, Max Deegan, Josh Murphy, Will Connors and more vying to become the next big back row star. The next Dan Leavy... There have been fears expressed by many Leinster and Ireland fans that the latest trip to the surgeon, for Sean O'Brien, may be his last as a professional rugby player. O'Brien has battled hip, hamstring, ankle and shoulder injuries in the past four seasons and underwent a medical procedure on his damaged shoulder on Friday. In the past three seasons, the 31-year-old has started as many games for Leinster and he has Ireland - 18 starts and two sub appearances apiece since August 2015. 2016/17 and 2017/18 has seen him make 14 starts for Leinster [830 minutes on the field]. Injuries, rehabs and his central contract have seen Leinster denied his world-class talents for long stretches. Following his side's emphatic victory over Scarlets, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen was asked by SportsJOE if he backed O'Brien to successfully come back from his latest injury set-back. He replied:

"Definitely. He’s a player that is so physically committed, The way he plays he is going to pick up bangs because some of the contacts that he is involved in around the ruck in particular. Seanie is a very resilient guy and we wish him his best in his recovery."

Cullen also revealed that he was hoping to have the likes of Ruddock, Luke McGrath and, by extension, James Lowe, all back in contention for a spoke in Leinster's cup final squad.

"Luke is making good progress," he said, "and same with Rhys so not a million miles away."