Cian Healy could still get called into Ireland squad after injury issue eases

Ireland will continue to monitor the fitness of absent prop Cian Healy following encouraging progress in his recovery from the injury which caused him to be left out of Andy Farrell’s Rugby World Cup squad.

Healy was certain to be included in Farrell’s 33-man selection for France before suffering a calf problem against Samoa on August 26th in the final warm-up match.

The vastly-experienced Leinster loosehead, who will turn 36 next Saturday – the day Ireland complete their Pool B fixtures against Scotland in Paris – posted a positive update on social media, saying his rehabilitation was “ahead of schedule”.

A post shared by Cian Healy (@properchurch)

Ireland team manager Mick Kearney believes Healy “would be a great addition” for later in the tournament, although he could only be called up if another player departed injured.

“The medics and S and C (strength and conditioning) would be in regular contact with Cian and I’m sure other players back home to see how their fitness levels are,” said Kearney.

“It’s great to see Cian back training and training well.

“Possibly later in the tournament, if we get an injury, Cian would be a great addition, if he was fully fit.

“I would say it’s good to see him back training but it will require an injury to another player for Cian to be able to come in.”

Initial prognosis on Healy’s injury suggested he would be sidelined for between five and 10 weeks.

The lower end of that estimate was reached on Saturday, two days after an Instagram video showed the 125-cap front-row forward working hard in the gym and running on the training pitch.

Healy, whose place in the squad was taken by Munster’s Jeremy Loughman, captioned the footage with: “It wasn’t easy getting here, but happy the body