LAST UPDATE | 15 Nov 2021
IRELAND CAPTAIN JOHNNY Sexton has been ruled out of action for four to six weeks after suffering a twisted knee and ankle during Saturday’s 29-20 win over New Zealand.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has called Connacht’s Jack Carty into his squad in place of Sexton ahead of this Sunday’s Autumn Nations Series clash with Argentina in Dublin.
Sexton will remain with the Ireland squad as they prepare for the meeting with Los Pumas but is now facing a stint on the sidelines.
Sexton was injured in the first half of the victory over New Zealand but had his knee strapped up and played on until the 65th minute when he was forced off for a head injury assessment.
This injury makes Sexton a major doubt for Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup games against Bath in four weekends’ time and Montpellier a week later.
Carty’s Ireland call-up is sure to be popular among supporters, with the Connacht man having been in good form in the United Rugby Championship early on this season.
It is expected that Joey Carbery will start against Argentina on Sunday, while Harry Byrne may be used off the bench, but Carty – who last played for Ireland at the 2019 World Cup – will relish this opportunity to be back in the Ireland mix.
Meanwhile, Ireland have confirmed that Munster back row Gavin Coombes has recovered from the illness that had sidelined him for the last two weeks.
The 23-year-old made his Ireland debut back in July and has been a consistently impressive performer for Munster. Having now re-joined the Ireland squad, Coombes will hope for some involvement on Sunday.
The IRFU says that more than 45,000 tickets have already been sold for the game against Argentina.
