Ireland Are Sweating On The Fitness Of Yet Another Player

The dreaded hamstring may have struck again.

Sean O’Brien sat out training yesterday with a tight hamstring but now its seems a fellow Leinster man may be having issues with his also in the form of fullback Rob Kearney. The IRFU did not comment on Kearney’s participation in the session, but it is understood that he also suffered some tightness after the first hit-out of the week. Kearney has struggled with back and hamstring problems this season and Simon Zebo is on standby to come in if he fails to recover in time.

Joe Schmidt names his team tomorrow and will be sweating on the fitness of two of his most important players ahead of the critical first game against Wales with his current injury list already featuring first-team players Iain Henderson, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald and Peter O’Mahony.

If Kearney doesn’t recover in time many fans will be calling for a backline that features Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw in midfield with Jared Payne moving to fullback. Whether that is the case or not remains to be seen.