Johnny Sexton all clear to play against France

Johnny Sexton has been cleared to return for Ireland against France next week as his stand-in Ian Keatley gained the backing of captain Paul O’Connell ahead of his RBS 6 Nations debut in Italy.

Sexton, stood down on medical grounds for 12 weeks following concussion issues during the November internationals, passed the necessary tests in Paris on Thursday that now clear him to resume full contact training with Ireland next week. Head coach Joe Schmidt and his management team are hoping the Racing Metro fly-half comes through the training sessions in order to be considered for selection against the French in Dublin next Saturday, although the more pressing concern facing them is today’s championship opener against the Italians at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

“Johnny will be ready to play next weekend. But that’s next week,” assistant coach Les Kiss said during yesterday’s captain’s run press conference. “(He has been cleared) to play next week but the focus is on Italy. We have talked about a lot of individuals, you’ve mentioned his name, but the best team will win the game tomorrow and that’s the bottom line for us.”