Injury Rules O’Connell Out
Lock Paul O’Connell (shoulder) has been ruled out of the Ireland team for Sunday’s clash with Wales. Meanwhile, Shane Byrne has been called up as cover for hooker Jerry Flannery (ankle).
…Munster and Ireland lock Paul O’Connell…
Lock Paul O’Connell (shoulder) has been ruled out of the Ireland team for Sunday’s clash with Wales. Meanwhile, Shane Byrne has been called up as cover for hooker Jerry Flannery (ankle).
Despite having an encouraging period of rehabilitation last week, O’Connell’s left shoulder, which he injured against France last time out, has reacted to the next level of training and has not progressed sufficiently. As a result, the Limerick man has been ruled out of consideration for the Wales game.
Ireland Team Doctor Gary O’Driscoll said: “Based on Paul’s reaction in training today, we repeated the scan which revealed that the shoulder has not healed to the extent we had anticipated. Paul will continue with his rehabilitation and we are confident that he will be available for the Scotland game (on March 11).”
Meanwhile, Saracens hooker Shane Byrne has been added to the Ireland squad as precautionary cover for Jerry Flannery who suffered an ankle strain in training. A decision on Flannery’s availability will be made later in the week.
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