Chris Farrell is unlikely to feature in the final two rounds of the Six Nations after the Ireland centre twisted a knee in training on Tuesday.
Ireland’s head coach, Joe Schmidt, initially laughed off the incident saying the other players had dubbed Farrell, a starter against Wales last weekend in place of Robbie Henshaw who sustained a tournament-ending shoulder injury in the previous round against Italy, Lazarus for the way he quickly resumed training after receiving treatment.
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A few hours later Ireland issued a statement saying Farrell was sent for a precautionary scan which indicated he had sustained ligament damage and would see a specialist. “Chris is unlikely to be available for the remainder of the Six Nations,” it concluded.
Garry Ringrose, who has not played for Ireland since last summer because of injury, took a full part in training and is set to replace Farrell.
Ireland, who are unbeaten in the Six Nations this year, will seal the title if they secure more points than England next week. Schmidt’s men are at home against Scotland while their rivals travel to Paris to face France, who last Friday achieved their first victory in 11 months when they defeated Italy.
The Ireland half-backs Johnny Sexton (back) and Conor Murray (foot) trained on their own. Schmidt said they would be fit to face Scotland, along with the forwards Tadhg Furlong and Iain Henderson who missed the Wales win with hamstring strains.
“It gives young players like Joey Carbery and Kieran Marmion the chance to boss the team, something they do not get in match week,” Schmidt said. “You never know when a player will pick up an injury and we have to prepare for all eventualities.”
Ireland have conceded three tries in each of their two home games in the Six Nations this month but Schmidt said he had full confidence in his defence coach, Andy Farrell. “He’s doing a great job, with individuals as well as the team,” he said. “I’ve worked with a whole lot of people and I think he’s world class. He’s got the confidence of our group because they can see the system works.”