IRISH FORWARDS COACH SIMON EASTERBY HAS provided updates about Ireland's about the current Six Nations injury list.
Ireland have won two out of two in this year's SN and will face Italy, Scotland, and England for a potential Grand Slam in the coming month and a half.
However, Ireland have lost several stars to injury as the tournament has moved forward.
Tadhg Bierne, Tadhg Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan, Robb Herring, Robbie Henshaw, Johnny Sexton and Cian Healy have all received different knocks.
Simon Easterby speaking to the media on Thursday gave updates on each player.
Watch all the latest from Ireland camp as Defence Coach Simon Easterby spoke with media at the IRFU High Performance Centre ⬇️#TeamOfUs | #GuinnessSixNations
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 16, 2023
Simon Easterby on Johnny Sexton
"Johnny is already back into rehab and working with the guys to get himself back up to speed to train next week.
"Johnny is like other players who have little niggles, he’s just trying to put himself in a position to be ready to go on Monday.
Simon Easterby on Rob Herring
"Nasty blow [for Rob Herring], he's following a return to play protocol and he’s in good form today(Thursday), a little bit sore as expected."
"Rob will come under the return to contact and play protocols, which he obviously has to pass to become fit and available for selection."
Simon Easterby on Dan Sheehan, Robbie Henshaw, Jamison Gibson-Park, and Cian Healy
"They're dipping in and out of doing their rehab and I guess keeping on top of their own individual work along with staying connected to the group. We're hopeful that they'll all come back into contention over the next couple of weeks."
Simon Easterby on Tadhg Furlong
"He's in a really good place, he knows his own body and understands how that works. We're very hopeful, and so is he, that he's going to be involved at some point in the Six Nations.
"It's the sort of injury, like a lot of soft-tissue injuries, that you want to make sure you don't get wrong.
"You want to make sure you get it right and they feel like they've got enough in the bank in terms of exposure to the high intensity of the game.
"How can we do that? We can do that as much as we can in terms of training but at some point, you have to expose yourself to a game and hopefully that will be over the next few weeks."
The IRFU on Tadhg Bierne
"Tadhg Beirne will undergo surgery today on the ankle injury he sustained in Saturday's win over France. Unfortunately Tadhg will be ruled out for up to 12 weeks," they said.
🤕 𝐈𝐍𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 ☘️
🗣️ 'They're all around, dipping in and out...'
Simon Easterby is hopeful to not only have Tadhg Furlong back, but also Robbie Henshaw, Cian Healy and Jamison Gibson-Park before the end of the #GuinnessSixNations | ☘️@VodafoneIreland | #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/d9vGwP3EcI— Off The Ball (@offtheball) February 16, 2023
