Ulster have received a boost ahead of the start of their season with the announcement of Jacob Stockdale’s return to full fitness. The 26-year-old has not played for province or country since sustaining a serious ankle injury in September 2021.
Ulster take on the Exeter Chiefs in preseason action on Friday night at the Kingspan Stadium and the Ireland wing could well return for his first taste of action in almost a year.
In his absence, the likes of Mack Hansen and Robert Baloucoune have progressed up Ireland’s backthree depth chart while Hugo Keenan and James Lowe have cemented their places in the backfield. Still, a fully fit Stockdale anywhere near his 2018 try-scoring form would be a significant boost both to Dan McFarland at Ulster and Andy Farrell as Ireland continue to build towards the 2023 World Cup campaign.
There will no doubt be significant interest to see if Stockdale participates in the upcoming Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa, given he is on the outside looking in when it comes to international selection.
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In other injury news, Iain Henderson and James Hume both remain longer-term absentees as they continue to recover from injuries picked up while touring New Zealand with the Ireland squad. Will Addison (lower leg), Jude Postlethwaite (knee) and Ben Moxham (shoulder) remain sidelined, while David McCann, David Shanahan, and Andy Warwick are unavailable for the Exter clash after picking up minor injuries in training.
