Injuries mount for Ireland

Irish coach Declan Kidney looks set to be without a host of first team regulars for Ireland’s last November international against Argentina next weekend.

Rory Best is facing up to six weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a fractured cheekbone during Ireland’s defeat to New Zealand on Saturday, while Leinster duo Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald will also miss the clash with the Pumas after both picked up knee injuries against the All Blacks.

Captain Brian O’Driscoll’s participation is also in doubt after he suffered a bruised shoulder, while fellow three quarters Gordon D’Arcy and Tommy Bowe are doubts with calf strains.

A statement on the IRFU website read: “All three (O’Driscoll, D’Arcy and Bowe) will undergo rest and rehabilitation on their injuries but, at this point, they have not been ruled out of next Sunday’s game against Argentina. A further update on their condition should be available on Tuesday.

Luke Fitzgerald suffered a medial ligament injury to his left knee during the game and has been ruled out of the final Guinness Series Test against the Pumas.

The damage is to the same knee that he injured last November, but this is a new injury and to a different part of the knee. Fitzgerald is expected to be out for approximately six weeks.

Rob Kearney injured his knee and has suffered cartilage damage. He will undergo exploratory surgery this week to further determine the extent of the injury and the period of recovery that he will need. However, the full-back is certainly ruled out of next weekend’s Test.

Rory Best will also sit out the Argentina game after suffering a fractured cheekbone. The Ulster captain will undergo surgery tomorrow and it is expected that he will be unable to play for six weeks while the injury is healing”.

With Best, Kearney and Fitzgerald definitely out, and O’Driscoll, D’Arcy and Bowe doubtful, Kidney is planning on making full use of his squad against Argentina.

“We’ve played New Zealand twice this year, Australia once and South Africa once and you can’t buy that sort of experience,” said Kidney.

“Some of the younger players have picked up an awful lot of game time against them; just look at Sean Cronin for example.

“We didn’t pick the same team all the time. We wanted to build a squad and that’s what we’ve done.

“That will show itself no more than next weekend against Argentina when we’ll need the squad to come through.”

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