Man down.

Robbie Henshaw looks almost certain to miss Ireland’s Rugby World Cup pool opener with Scotland next weekend but his hamstring injury doesn’t appear to be as bad an initially feared.

News broke yesterday that Henshaw had torn his hamstring in training, but head coach Joe Schmidt has responded to those reports with some good news for Irish fans. Schmidt reckons Henshaw’s injury isn’t “too bad” and it looks like he’ll be able to play a part in World Cup.

“Robbie pulled up with a bit of tightness in his hamstring,”Schmidt said.

“When he pulled up he wasn’t accelerating. We’d be hopeful it is not going be too bad.

“It is likely to rule him out of this week? Yeah, you would have to say it is likely.”

Will Addison is on standby after pulling out of Ulster’s squad for their game against Glasgow yesterday, but for now, he will remain in Ireland.

Keith Earls is an injury worry for Ireland, but the Munster winger looks set to train this coming week. He should be back on the field by Wednesday or Thursday. Joey Carbery meanwhile looks like he’ll be fit in time for the Scotland game with the Munster outhalf set to take full part in training this week.

“Joey trained well on Saturday and he’s due to train fully with the team on Monday,” Schmidt said, adding that he is likely to select his team to face Scotland on Wednesday.