Fingers crossed for Sarries

Saracens will keep fingers crossed that injuries do not undermine the quest for Heineken Cup glory.

The 19-10 quarter-final victory over Ospreys came at a cost as centre Andy Farrell (shoulder), full-back Brent Russell (hamstring) and flanker Paul Gustard (shoulder) all were forced off.

Farrell has already been ruled out for the season and Saracens rugby director Alan Gaffney said: "Faz has a total rupture of his AC (acromioclavicular) joint, so he will be gone for about three months."

Try-scorer Francisco Leonelli also sustained a knock and Sarries have three weeks to build towards a first semi-final - they face Munster at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on April 27.

Injury setbacks though, could not take the gloss off a richly-deserved win built around brilliant defence and an outstanding pack performance inspired by England back-row veteran Richard Hill.

Gaffney can now look forward to facing Munster after spending three years as their coach and guiding them to a Heineken semi-final.

"I sent a number of congratulatory text messages to my Munster friends after their win against Gloucester on Saturday, and I got a flood of them in return after the final whistle against the Ospreys," he said.

"All the pundits didn't give us a chance, but we knew within ourselves that we could win.

"I guess you could say we've put a spanner in the works by beating a team that many people thought were the favourites to win the tournament.

"Now, we will have to do it all over again when we meet Munster. I hope we've put to bed the myth that this club are perennial under-achievers. It was a great day for the club and an occasion for the players to savour."