Carty 'touch and go' for Connacht's season opener

Connacht captain Jack Carty says he's "touch and go" for the start of the BTK United Rugby Championship next week.

The out-half missed the province's final game of last season after opting to have surgery on his wrist and says a call will be made on his availability for the 17 September visit to Ulster in the next week.

"It's feeling a lot better now," he told RTÉ Sport.

"I'll be touch and go for the start of the season. I'll have to see how the next seven days go, but I'll be there or thereabouts."

The 30-year-old will be badly needed by Connacht in the early stages of the season, who have been handed a notoriously difficult start, with a tour to South Africa following the trip to Ulster, where they will face last year's finalists, the Stormers and the Bulls.

And although they will finally get two home games in a row upon their return, they will be debuting their new 4G surface at the Sportsground with derbies against Munster and Leinster in consecutive games.

.@ConnachtRugby captain Jack Carty tells @neil_treacy he is "touch and go" for the start of the new #URC season as he recovers from wrist surgery - and hopes to add to his 11 Ireland caps this November. #RTERugby pic.twitter.com/5zKt9Y6e0x

Carty carried the injury throughout last season, and laughs at how the "vice-grip" handshake of one of his father's friends was enough to make him realise the issue needed to be addressed, as he strives to return to the Irish squad ahead of next year's World Cup in France.

"It happened against Ulster in the Rainbow Cup, so 14 months ago, and the thinking behind it was that with the year that's ahead, or that I'd like to have ahead, I didn't want anything to happen in the season.

"Unfortunately I had to make a decision, it was a tough one