Ulster have received a massive boost ahead of their Champions Cup clash with Clermont this weekend with star trio John Cooney, Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee all being passed fit to play.
Star scrum-half Cooney, who has without a doubt been their player of the season to date was taken off late in their 38-17 win over Munster last weekend with a head injury. However, after undergoing the necessary protocols he has been passed fit to be selected.
Meanwhile, Coetzee missed that game entirely due to concussion issues, but like Cooney has successfully passed the return to play protocols to feature this weekend.
On the other hand, Murphy has been out for a bit longer due to illness, and hasn’t featured for the team since their last win in the competition against Harlequins, but he appears fit to play a part this time around.
That means that the northern province are looking at having a potentially full strength squad for the game as they look to make it five wins from five in the pool stages and progress to the knock-outs.
Confidence will be high in the Ulster camp having just had a successful enough Christmas period during which they defeated rivals Munster and Connacht, while a second-string team put up a good fight against Leinster. Sitting second in Conference A of the PRO14 and top of their European pool to date is not a bad place to be for the team and they will be hoping their fine start to the season continues as they try to seal a home quarter-final by topping the pool.