IRELAND HEAD COACH Joe Schmidt has eased fears that Andrew Trimble may be in doubt for the World Cup after a reoccurrence of his foot injury.
The Ulster wing was replaced after 34 minutes of last weekend’s win over Wales in Cardiff, having spent almost the entirety of last season sidelined with a troublesome issue in his right foot.
Trimble went for a scan early this week, but was forced to undergo a second procedure after initial tests proved inconclusive. That sparked speculation that the 30-year-old had become a World Cup injury doubt.
However, Schmidt had encouraging news at Carton House this afternoon after naming his team to face Scotland on Saturday.
“The second scan was relatively positive,” said Schmidt. “There’s some bruising in the foot and down around the toes. He’s going to start with some light running during next week and we’d hope that he’d be fully fit to be selected for Wales, starting training Monday week.
It’s still not great even having 10 days now where he has to build his way back. It’s not ideal for him, particularly after a long absence, but I think he’s got some confidence on the back of getting a relatively positive prognosis yesterday.
“That means that he’s going to work his way back and do the best he can to impress and have himself right.”
Schmidt said the issue in Trimble’s foot is related to last season’s problem. The Ulsterman actually suffered a reoccurrence of the injury during his initial comeback attempt last season, adding to the concern this time around.
“It’s around that area, so anything that happens in an area like that, there’s going to be some nervousness about it,” said Schmidt. “But the feedback from the second scan is that it’s intact and hopefully he’ll be up and running in 10 days or so.”
Schmidt’s team for Scotland again features Mike Ross at tighthead, with Nathan White named on the bench. The Connacht prop was not part of Ireland’s extended 45-man World Cup training squad named before the summer.
As such, there was confusion as to the status of Marty Moore and Tadhg Furlong, both tightheads having been named in that training squad. Asked where they are in relation to game time, Schmidt said:
“Marty Moore was coming back from a shoulder operation. With Marty, he’s probably fit to play but probably didn’t really fit too well with us.
Marty may play next week in the Leinster – Ulster (pre-season friendly) game (21 August in Belfast) and that would allow him a bit of a springboard into the Wales week, if selected.
“Tadhg Furlong has had a little bit of a niggle and it hasn’t gone away, so he wasn’t quite fit to play this week. Again, he will hopefully be fit to play in the next couple of weeks and we may also let him have a hit-out in that Ulster – Leinster clash, or potentially put him in the week after that.
“It’s a fine line at the moment. We don’t want to exacerbate any injury situations, but at the same time we’re conscious that players need to get confidence in a playing rhythm. We’re trying to play those two things off and that’s the reason for it.”
Ireland management stated that the niggle affecting Furlong is in his thigh.
