Ireland’s slim Six Nations hopes have suffered another blow, with the news that Sean O’Brien, Mike McCarthy and Dave Kearney have been ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
All three suffered injuries in last week’s defeat to France.
O'Brien came off in the first half in Paris with a hamstring injury, while Kearney suffered a first half shoulder injury.
McCarthy, meanwhile, suffered a concussion in last weekend’s defeat and has seen a specialist this week.
Joe Schmidt has indicated the Leinster second row will now miss the rest of the season in a bid to get fit for the start of next season.
There was better news on Johnny Sexton, who rolled his ankle at today's open training session in Mullingar.
Schmidt is not worried about the Leinster out-half and expects him to return to training next week.
