RG Snyman has resumed training with Munster after recovering from a second ACL injury.
Snyman, 27, has returned to work on the training field after the Reds started pre-season sessions on Monday under new head coach Graham Rowntree.
The World Cup winning second row has suffered a torrid time in terms of injury since joining the province two summers ago.
The Springbok lock suffered a cruciate injury less than 10 minutes into his Munster debut against Leinster in August 2020.
He was then among a number of Reds who suffered burns in a fire-pit accident and, when he returned to action in October of last year, he suffered a nightmare second ACL injury at the Scarlets in his second game back.
In January, Snyman signed a new two year deal that ties him to the province until the summer of 2024.
The province has now confirmed that Snyman has been "reintegrating to team training" this week led by Rowntree and his new coaching team following the end of the Johann van Graan era.
Also training at Munster's High Performance Centre this week are new signings Malakai Fekitoa, Antoine Frisch and Chris Moore, while in a further boost to the province, Diarmuid Barron (elbow), Thomas Ahern (thigh) and Chris Farrell (hip) have all returned to training.
Frisch is progressing well after undergoing a shoulder procedure towards the end of last season and will be in line to return in time for the Reds' pre-season fixtures against Gloucester and London Irish at Musgrave Park
Liam Coombes (toe), Dave Kilcoyne (neck) and knee injury victims Andrew Conway, John Hodnett and Jack Daly are continuing to rehab.
Munster's Ireland senior and under-20s players who were in action in New Zealand and Italy respectively this summer will enjoy a rest period for the coming weeks before they make their return to training.
Meanwhile, Leinster are hosting open training sessions as part of a province wide tour that Leo Cullen’s squad will undertake over the course of a few days.
While many of the sessions will be behind closed doors, there will be three opportunities for the public to meet with Cullen, his coaches and players.
The clubs hosting the open training sessions are Longford RFC, Kilkenny RFC and Athy RFC and the sessions will be hosted over two days, on Thursday, 25th August and on Friday, 26th August.
"We have all missed the opportunity over the last few years to get out and about and to just meet people, to meet our supporters," said Cullen. "That connection between us, as a team, and the supporters is crucial and we have missed that.
"Whether that be visiting our clubs and our schools, or meeting people at games or at open training sessions, there has been a lot of missed opportunities due to Covid.
"It was important for us as a group and as an organisation to get back to our communities and to see people again and it was also important for us to go to them.
"They have been brilliant with their support at the RDS and Aviva over the years and in particular as we have started to get back to normality last season.
"We wanted to repay that with a number of visits during the off-season to their clubs and we are really looking forward to it now.
"Three great clubs with huge passion for the game and deeply rooted in their communities and we look forward to seeing as many kids and parents as possible over the two days in CPL Park, in Foulkstown and in the Showgrounds."
Those interested in attending the training sessions are advised to check out the websites of the three clubs for further information.
Leinster open training sessions:
Thursday, 25th August: Longford RFC (3.00pm)
Friday, 26th August: Kilkenny RFC (10.30am)
Friday, 26th August: Athy RFC (10.30am)
READ NEXT:
Ronan Finn feels like Shamrock Rovers European adventure only starting
Galway Races day 3 race card and tips - full list of runners on Wednesday
- Syndicate celebrate as their runner wins feature race at Galway after surviving broken-down horsebox
Amanda Serrano performs Croke Park U-turn as she blasts Katie Taylor decision
Donegal GAA chiefs told to give vacant manager's job to Jim McGuinness
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
