Galway man Andrew Browne is also introduced for the New Year's Day fixture at the RDS in Dublin, joining Aly Muldowney in the second row.
Commenting on the team selection and the upcoming game, Pat Lam said:
"It's great to have both Tom (McCartney) and Jake (Heenan) back from injury and ready for this game having joined us in training over the past few weeks. Tom adds that bit of experience and leadership that is needed in these big games, especially with our young back line. We are all delighted to see Jake returning after what has been a challenging six months for him. He has worked extremely hard to get back to this point with the help of our medical and S&C teams and he is raring to go.
"I'm pleased with the quality of the week's preparation we have had as a squad. We travel to Dublin tomorrow confident in the knowledge that we have a good chance of getting the points on offer against Leinster as long as we play as a team and can take the opportunities we create. Although we face a big hurdle at the RDS, we are excited by it and are looking forward to the challenge."
Connacht team to face Leinster, Friday, January 1st, 17:00
15 Tiernan O'Halloran
14 Niyi Adeolokun
13 Bundee Aki
12 Craig Ronaldson
11 Matt Healy
10 Jack Carty
9 Kieran Marmion
1 Finlay Bealham
2 Tom McCartney
3 Nathan White
4 Aly Muldowney
5 Andrew Browne
6 John Muldoon (captain)
7 Jake Heenan
8 Eoghan Masterson
Replacements:
16 Dave Heffernan
17 Ronan Loughney
18 Rodney Ah You
19 Ultan Dillane
20 Sean O'Brien
21 Ian Porter
22 AJ MacGinty
23 Rory Parata
Unavailable / Injured: Denis Buckley, JP Cooney, Ben Marshall, Quinn Roux, James Connolly, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoin McKeon, John Cooney, Dave McSharry, Robbie Henshaw, Peter Robb, Conor Finn, Danie Poolman, Darragh Leader.
Leinster v Connacht
Friday January 1st
RDS
Kick off 5pm
Live on TG4
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU, 75th competition game)
Guinness PRO12 Connacht News
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