RYAN BAIRD WILL miss Ireland’s upcoming Six Nations games against Italy and France through injury, although the Leinster lock could yet play a part in latter stages of the autumn international schedule.

Baird picked up a muscle strain while on Pro14 duty last weekend and has been ruled out of the final rounds of Ireland’s championship bid, while Leinster team-mate Jordan Larmour will miss the entirety of the autumn schedule with a dislocated shoulder as expected.

Connacht’s Ultan Dillane is the only new call-up in Andy Farrell’s squad, which assembled today in Carton House ahead of the visit of Italy on 24 October. All players and management were tested for Covid-19 on Monday ahead of joining the camp, with the IRFU reporting that all tests returned negative.

Peter O’Mahony and Chris Farrell are currently completing an isolation period after they were identified as close contacts. Both players are Covid clear, the IRFU confirmed, and will join the squad on Monday when their isolation is finished.

Johnny Sexton, Ronan Kelleher and Andrew Porter are all being monitored in their recovery from injury and could return to training as early as next week, while Finlay Bealham and Dave Heffernan are progressing though the return to play protocols.

– Updated 4.56pm: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Ryan Baird plays in the back row; Baird is a lock.

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