IRELAND BOSS ANDY Farrell says his squad are “devastated” to have lost experienced prop Cian Healy to injury just before the World Cup.
The 35-year-old missed out on Farrell’s 33-man World Cup squad after injuring his calf in last night’s final warm-up game against Samoa in Bayonne.
With Healy ruled out, Ireland will bring Andrew Porter, Dave Kilcoyne, and Jeremy Loughman as their three loosehead props.
“He’s just had a scan as we got off the plane and he’ll be out for a spell of time that won’t be right, unfortunately, for Cian and for us, certainly for the start of the competition,” said Farrell at the squad naming in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel this evening.
“We’ll see how his rehab goes during it. You’d never know towards the back end if he could be a replacement or not.
“It’s devastating, isn’t it? That’s sport, that’s life, that’s rugby. Cian’s big enough and old enough and experienced enough to be through these types of things before. I remember in 2013 on the Lions tour he got injured early and had to fly home.
“He’s experienced something like this and understands that these things happen. He’s devastated, as we are for him.”
While Farrell said Ireland could potentially call on Healy as an injury replacement later in the World Cup, the Ireland head coach indicated that the Leinster forward could be sidelined for up to 10 weeks.
“The prognosis is something between five, six to ten weeks,” said Farrell. “How that rehab carries on is something that we’ll keep a track of as we go.”
A downbeat Ireland captain Johnny Sexton also expressed his dismay for Healy, his long-time team-mate with province and country.
“I only just found out literally five minutes ago,” said Sexton. “He has been through ups and downs in his career, he’s a very, very decorated player, a great player.
“We’re going to miss him. I’m gutted for him to miss this tournament. It has meant a lot to him in how he has prepared for it and how he has trained. So I’m gutted for him.”
While the news on Healy was bad, Farrell had a positive update on hookers Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher, who have both been named in the World Cup squad despite being sidelined recently.
Kelleher has been dealing with a hamstring injury and didn’t play in any of Ireland’s warm-up games, while Sheehan suffered a concerning foot injury in the win over England last weekend.
“They’re in good spirits,” said Farrell.
“Rónan could have been fit for this weekend but we’re giving him another week to solidify that. Dan is progressing very well, ahead of schedule as it were. We’ll keep analysing that and see how it goes over the next week or so.”
Keith Earls and Stuart McCloskey are part of the Ireland squad, while the likes of Cian Prendergast, Ciarán Frawley, and Jacob Stockdale miss out.
Asked about the make-up of his squad, Farrell said it wasn’t really about pitting individuals against each other, but instead all about balance.
“For you guys, rightly so, you’d probably look at the squad and say these guys are competing against different types of personnel than the reality, really.
“The balance of the squad for such a small group that goes to the World Cup, versatility within that is pretty important. The likes of Keith and Jimmy O’Brien come into that category.”
And Farrell said he and his players are excited to get their campaign underway with a Pool B clash against Romania in Bordeaux on Saturday 9 September.
“We’re the lucky ones that get to chase the dream for the wider group and the nation itself,” said Farrell.
“If we can’t get excited for that and the first game against Romania, we’re in the wrong job. I think we’re in a great place, ready to take this challenge head on.”
