Andy Farrell: Too early to tell extent of Cian Healy injury

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says it's too early to tell the extent of Cian Healy's leg injury, with the loosehead prop emerging as a major doubt for next month's Rugby World Cup.

The 35-year-old suffered a lower leg injury after a collapsed scrum midway through the first half of Ireland's scrappy 17-13 victory against Samoa, and had to be helped from the field while he appeared to be unable to put weight on his right leg.

Healy was seen in a protective boot and on crutches during the second half of the game, and speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, Farrell said the injury would be assessed on Sunday.

"I saw what you saw, he pulled up sharp, didn't he, and struggled to get off the field," he said.

"We’ll try get that assessed as soon as we possibly can, first thing in the morning."

Healy's injury was the main fitness concern to emerge from the game, although full-back Jimmy O'Brien also left with a shoulder issue, which Farrell said will require more time to assess.

"Jimmy had a bang on his shoulder, he's had a problem with his shoulder before and this isn’t the same one, it’s a fresh one. It’s how people wake up."

In better news, Farrell was in a positive mood around Keith Earls who sat out the game with a minor issue, reporting that he will be "fit and ready to go" if selected for the World Cup squad - which will be named tomorrow - and the coach said he'll make his final decision on the panel when he has more information available.

"It was always going to be like this, nothing ever goes smoothly. That's why we have to be adaptable as staff and we’ll do the right thing by the squad in the morning."

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