Man down.

Ireland secured a routine win over Italy this afternoon in the first of four World Cup warm-up games – but there were worrying signs when Joey Carbery was stretchered off with a worrying injury.

Carbery hurt his ankle in the 50th minute of the game while tackling Italian forward Jim Tuivaiti and left the field on a cart.

But while it’s too soon to tell just how bad the injury is – head coach Joe Schmidt doesn’t think it will keep the Munster outhalf out of the World Cup in Japan.

“With Joey (Carbery) the good thing is that I can say there is no fracture because we have had him x-rayed, but there is a bit of swelling to that ankle, so we are probably going to have to let that go down a bit over the next 24-48 hours, then probably get that scanned or if we don’t think it is too bad he will work away rehabbing in Portugal, working his way forward to England, if not England, hopefully Wales.” Schmidt said

“It is too soon to say, but I don’t think it is going to keep him out of the World Cup.”

Fingers crossed Schmidt is right. Losing Carbery would be a massive blow for the men in green.