Murray Kinsella reports from Cardiff
IRELAND SAY THEY “don’t know” how long Johnny Sexton’s adductor strain will keep him out for.
The out-half has been ruled out of tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final, and Ireland say they are unsure whether or not Sexton would be fit for a semi-final if Joe Schmidt’s men beat Argentina.
Forwards coach Simon Easterby stated that Sexton trained “fully” with the rest of the squad yesterday at the Millennium Stadium but suffered discomfort after the session.
“He trained fully yesterday and he had a bit of tightness in there,” said Easterby in Cardiff this afternoon. “He was sent for a scan and that showed the strain. The good thing is that guys have run in and out all week, in all positions.
“He did everything he could, he trained yesterday. It’s one of those things in his position, having to kick the ball so often and be quite accurate, it just meant that he wasn’t quite right. We weren’t prepared to take that risk going into such a big game.”
Asked how long Sexton is likely to be sidelined for, Easterby did not provide any clarity.
I don’t know, I couldn’t answer that right now,” said Easterby. “I think the most important thing is we get through this week and that’s our only focus. Beyond Sunday, we haven’t looked that far and that’s been our focus throughout the competition.”
Pushed as to whether there was a clinical prognosis on when Sexton will be fit again, Easterby again stated that he didn’t know.
“No, I don’t believe there is,” said Easterby. “It’s a minor strain and he’s trained pretty well all week and done all the correct things to try and get himself available. We just weren’t prepared to risk him with what he presented yesterday after the scan.”
Asked if the adductor strain is the only injury currently affecting Sexton, Easterby replied with a straightforward “Yeah”.
Whatever about the nature of Sexton’s injury, the fact that he has been ruled out at this late stage, rather than earlier in the week, appears to be preferable for Ireland, given that Argentina may have prepared for Sexton starting.
Instead, they will face Ian Madigan.
“Possibly,” said Easterby when asked if the late confirmation of Sexton’s injury was more beneficial than him having been ruled out early in the week. “I couldn’t speak for how they prepare for a team. Possibly yeah, it may be the case.
But they would have had to prepare for Mads and Johnny, because Mads played the majority of last week’s game. They would have watched him play three quarters of it, so I’m guessing they would have been prepared for either option.”
Easterby also said that Ian Madigan hadn’t been given additional training-ground reps during Ireland’s sessions this week. With Sexton recovering from his adductor injury, that would have made sense but Easterby says it wasn’t the case.
“It’s always in the back of a player’s mind, but as far as we were concerned we were always doing the right thing with Johnny,” said Easterby.
“Mads has stepped in and out like he would normally in a week. It was no different this week in training. Johnny trained yesterday and unfortunately pulled up afterwards and felt a bit of tightness.”
