USA fly-half AJ MacGinty will make his first start for Sale Sharks on Saturday since October, handing the English club a boost ahead of their home European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-final against Connacht Rugby next month. The 28-year-old has not featured in the Challenge Cup since a man-of-the-match performance in December 2017, when he helped Sale defeat Cardiff Blues 24-0 with 14 points from the kicking tee. Prior to the 2018-19 campaign, MacGinty had shoulder surgery that kept him out of all Sale’s six pool stage matches as they topped Pool 3 ahead of Connacht. Scottish international wing Byron McGuigan also returns to the Sale XV for the Gallagher Premiership clash with fellow Challenge Cup quarter-finalists Northampton Saints, having sat out the last three matches due to injury. https://twitter.com/SaleSharksRugby/status/1096372112397344768 Connacht have also been handed a fitness boost, as scrum-half Kieran Marmion is on the replacements’ bench for Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 match against the Toyota Cheetahs, having fully recovered from ankle surgery in November. The Ireland international has a fine try-scoring record in the Challenge Cup, having notched nine in 21 appearances, but he hasn’t played in the competition since March 2018. Connacht face Sale Sharks in the Challenge Cup last eight at the AJ Bell Stadium on March 29, live on BT Sport and beIN SPORTS.