IRELAND may be without Cian Healy when the World Cup kicks off in September.
Fears are mounting that the loosehead prop will not recover before Joe Schmidt announces his 31-man squad.
Healy underwent neck surgery to repair a disc in May, and whilst the initial outlook was positive, it seems that it is taking him longer than expected to regain fitness.
Earlier this month, Healy admitted that the injury had given him a real scare but that he was optimistic about his return to the Ireland fold.
"If it's a neck surgery and it could have left me paralysed and it might if I didn't get it fixed and that's the way my head thinks," he said.
"They assured me that it wasn't a situation like that. I was happy to be told that I'd be able to play rugby again."
Healy has previously undergone surgeries on his hamstring and ankle in the last two seasons.
Ireland’s World Cup campaign kicks off on September 19 against Canada in Cardiff.
