Ireland
Ireland to leave it late on Cian Healy ahead of RWC
ESPN Staff
August 3, 2015
Cian Healy on the charge against Scotland
Cian Healy on the charge against Scotland© David Rogers/Getty Images

Ireland will leave it as late as possible to make a call on Cian Healy's fitness ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

The loose-head underwent neck surgery in May to repair a disc and Ireland are hopeful he will be fit to face England on September 5, their final World Cup warm-up match.

"The actual nerve is in good shape and the pressure is bring released off it but it takes a while to recover," Ireland boss Joe Schmidt said in the Irish Independent. "How long's a piece of string? We know he's making progress. He's a quality individual in the camp, and a quality player, so we'll give him as long as we can to make enough progress so we're comfortable he can reintegrate fully into playing the game.

"Potentially we'd like to get him into one of the last couple [of warm-ups] and there's a chance of that. If he's made enough progress and is training fully but hasn't played prior to England, and we don't select him for that, then we've got a tough decision to make.

"But if he was fully fit at that stage? Because he's played so many times for us already, and because he's a quality player, you'd want to select him. We won't actually know until the 31 whether he'll be in it or not."

New Zealand-born prop Michael Bent, who can play on either side of the scrum, has impressed Schmidt and is pushing for a place in the final 31. Schmidt added: "At the moment, after the five weeks he's put in, he's really strong," added Schmidt.

"I think that foundation will be really good for him. When he turned up in Ireland first it was on the back of a Super Rugby season and his introduction was a bit muddled between two things. I think he found his feet last season and has consolidated that with a pre-season."

© ESPN Staff

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