Gloucester loan Macken from Leinster

Gloucester have confirmed the signing of centre Brendan Macken on a loan deal from Leinster until the end of the season.

With Rob Cook, Shane Monahan and Henry Trinder all sidelined through injury and others unavailable on international duty, the club have moved to add cover to their back-line.

Cook has not played since November and Trinder is set for knee surgery following an injury he picked against London Welsh last week.

Director of Rugby David Humphreys has had to move fast with the transfer deadline approaching to bring in 23-year-old Macken.

Macken has come through the Leinster Academy and Blackrock College and has already played for Ireland U20s and an Emerging Ireland side.

He made his debut for Glasgow Warriors in the 2009-10 season and has since made 46 appearances for Leinster, scoring six tries.

"We are currently without a number of backs for various reasons, and we have a number of important fixtures coming up in the remaining weeks of the season," Humphreys said.

"The deadline for registering players was on Friday so, with Henry Trinder unfortunately getting injured against London Welsh last weekend, we made the decision to bring in an extra centre as soon as possible.

"I know Brendan very well from my Guinness PRO12 days. He is a talented young player who will bring both pace and a physical presence to the midfield. He will arrive in the next couple of days and start training next week.

"Brendan will be a very useful addition to the squad over the next few months, and we're very grateful to Leinster for their support in allowing him to join us on loan.”