Andy Farrell says it's possible he could call Cian Healy into his Rugby World Cup squad if his side advance to the quarter-finals.Robbie Henshaw will miss Saturday's Pool B decider against Scotland due to a hamstring injury, which the Ireland head coach believes could take at least two weeks to heal.Farrell won't call up a replacement ahead of this weekend, believing they will have a better read on Henshaw's return by Sunday.If Ireland advance to a quarter-final and Henshaw were to miss a couple of weeks, it seems likely that Farrell would have to bring a replacement into the squad for the quarter-final week.However, he may not feel the need to swap like for like, and follow South Africa's lead in calling up a player who better fills his needs.Stuart McCloskey will replace Henshaw on the bench tomorrow, and the Ulster centre's inclusion in the original 33-man squad at the end of August came as part of a 18:15 split of forwards to backs, when most other countries were choosing to go with 19:14.As such, it means that Ireland are well stocked for options to cover Henshaw right now.
With Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose starting and McCloskey on the bench, they still have Jimmy O'Brien as a centre option if needed, while Keith Earls and Jack Crowley can also cover midfield.That opens the door for a potential return for Cian Healy (above).
The 35-year-old was left out of the original squad having suffered an ankle injury in the final warm-up game against Samoa, but appears to have made a full recovery.And when asked if he had considered the possibility of bringing Healy in if Henshaw was to be ruled out, Farrell admitted it was certainly an option."It's not always a replacement like for like and Cian is obviously one of those