Schmidt awaits medical reports

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt will name his squad to tour Argentina today with one eye on medical reports chiefly concerning fly-half Paddy Jackson and outside backs Dave Kearney and Fergus McFadden.

All three players failed to finish Saturday night’s RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final at the RDS, McFadden received an accidental blow to the head and Leinster team-mate Kearney injuring a knee while Ulster’s Jackson hobbled out of the game clutching his upper thigh having taken a long-range penalty during his team’s 13-9 defeat. Kearney was due to have a scan yesterday while McFadden will go through return to play protocols, with their immediate concern the Rabo final against Glasgow in Dublin on May 31, with Leinster boss Matt O’Connor also sweating on now former Ireland player Brian O’Driscoll after he too suffered a head injury against Ulster.

With Ireland departing for South America the following day for the two-Test series against the Pumas, Schmidt was hoping for a clean bill of health from the weekend’s league semis ahead of this week’s mini-training camp. The New Zealander may not get a clear picture on the trio’s availability until later today but will be more concerned about their readiness to tour.

There had been 75 players put on standby for selection for international duty this summer with an Emerging Ireland squad to be named next week for the IRB Nations Cup in Romania.

Munster full-back Felix Jones will also go through the IRB concussion return to play protocols after he received a head injury against Glasgow in Scotstoun on Friday night but the province reported no further injury issues following their season-ending defeat to the Warriors.