Ireland and Munster star Tadhg Beirne says he's 'absolutely devastated for Cian Healy' after he missed out on Ireland's final World Cup squad last weekend.
Healy left Ireland's final warm-up win 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.
Ireland captain Johnny Sexton and Andy Farrell have already offered their take on the unfortunate situation around Healy's injury. Beirne has become the latest player to offer his condolences to his Ireland teammate.
"It's gutting," said the Munster star. "You see someone who's worked so hard in the preseason and the game just before the World Cup, and something like that happens. I'm absolutely devastated for Cian.
Cian Healy of Ireland wears a moonboot after leaving the field with an injury during the Rugby World Cup warm-up match between Ireland and Samoa at Parc des Sports Jean Dauger in Bayonne, France. (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"He's an incredibly strong character. He was still upbeat and really supportive of us.
"With the squad announcement and knowing that he wasn't going to be included, he was still very supportive.
"Hopefully, it won't be a long period he's out for. We're really devastated that's what happened at the very last hurdle, but I suppose that is part and parcel of this sport, and the reality is there'll probably be a couple more players along the way who might pick up injuries.
"That's just what happens, and you have to deal with it.
"That's what we've done as a squad – we've prepared a lot of players, and Faz has had more than 40 players in, so there are a lot of players ready to step up if anyone does get injured in the next couple of weeks."
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
