Ireland boss Andy Farrell says that Cian Healy was 'devastated' to miss out on the World Cup final squad selection this weekend.
Healy left Ireland's final warm-up game against Samoa on Saturday night because of a calf injury.
The 35-year-old Leinster prop was also pictured on crutches shortly after the incident.
There was little optimism that Healy would make the World Cup, and that was confirmed as true when Farrell selected his 33 players for the tournament in France on Sunday.
The Leinster man's place in the squad went to Jeremy Loughman, the Munster player.
Speaking on Sunday, Farrell said, "He's just had a scan as we got off the plane, and he'll be out for a spell of time that won't be right, unfortunately for Cian and for us, certainly for the start of the competition.
"We'll see how his rehab goes during it. You'd never know towards the back end if he could be a replacement or not.
"He obviously devastated, as we are as a group for him."
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has been reacting to the news that Cian Healy is not fit to take his place in the World Cup squad. pic.twitter.com/QQzPDCBaCs— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) August 27, 2023
"He's devastated. That's sport, that's life, isn't it?
"He's big enough and old enough. I remember in 2013 he had to fly home from the Lions, so he's been through it before."
"The prognosis is five, six to ten weeks – how that rehab carries on is something we'll monitor as we go."
Johnny Sexton added that he was gutted for Healy on the eve of the World Cup squad announcement: "I just found out literally five minutes ago. He's had ups and downs in his career, and I'm gutted for him. We'll miss him."
Ireland kicks off their World Cup adventure in Bordeaux against Romania on Saturday, September 9
Ireland 2023 Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards (18):
Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham,Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, David Kilcoyne, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Peter O'Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier.
Backs (15):
Bundee Aki, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Keith Earls, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jonathan Sexton
Ireland Fixtures, Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool B:
- Ireland v Romania, Saturday 9 September, Stade de Bordeaux (2.30pm Irish time/3.30pm local time)
- Ireland v Tonga, Saturday 16 September, Stade de la Beaujoire (8pm Irish time/9pm local time)
- Ireland v South Africa, Saturday 23 September, Stade de France (8pm Irish time/9pm local time)
- Ireland v Scotland, Saturday 7 October, Stade de France (8pm Irish time/9pm local time
