Johnny Sexton will feel uneasy about missing warm-up matches – Paul O’Connell

Paul O’Connell believes suspended Ireland captain Johnny Sexton will be concerned about his lack of game time ahead of his World Cup swansong.

Fly-half Sexton, who is set to retire following the tournament in France, will miss each of his country’s warm-up matches after being hit with a three-match ban for misconduct.

The 38-year-old has not played competitively since March, having been forced off by a groin injury in the final match of the Guinness Six Nations against England.

Forwards coach O’Connell insists Sexton’s extended absence is not a major worry for Ireland’s management team but concedes his former team-mate is likely to feel uneasy about the situation.

“Whenever he’s come back from injuries (previously), he rarely needs a lot of games to get back up and running,” said O’Connell.

“It’s a real strength of his. He’s trained since the start of pre-season pretty much, he hasn’t missed a training session.

“He seems to watch an awful lot of rugby, he thinks a lot about rugby, so I think that kind of helps him hit the ground running when he comes back.

Charging up for Italy!