PETER O’MAHONY PICKED up a hamstring strain in Ireland’s defeat to England on Saturday in the Six Nations.
The Munster flanker played 69 minutes of the 13-10 loss at Twickenham, before being replaced by Iain Henderson. O’Mahony will be monitored by Ireland’s medical team over the coming week, before any longer-term diagnosis is made.
With a rest weekend to come before the visit of Italy to Dublin on the 8th of March, Joe Schmidt will be hopeful that his blindside flanker has sufficient time to make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, the IRFU has confirmed that Brian O’Driscoll was suffering from cramping of the calf when he was withdrawn in the 79th minute on Saturday. The outside centre has been “very focused on his recovery” and will also be examined later in the week.
With the Italy clash set to be O’Driscoll’s final home game for Ireland, the iconic centre will be desperate to ensure he is back in full training as soon as possible. Those two players aside, Ireland have been fortunate enough to avoid any further injury problems after what was a physically demanding encounter in London.
The Ireland squad will enjoy two days off Six Nations duty today and tomorrow, before re-gathering in Belfast for a two-day training camp on Wednesday. The schedule is likely to include review of the England defeat as well as the beginning of planning for the Italy clash.
