Dan Sheehan’s foot injury may not be as serious as initially feared

INJURY BOOST: Dan Sheehan could be back sooner than expected. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Hope is rising within the Ireland camp that Dan Sheehan’s foot injury may not be as serious as initially feared.

Reports earlier in the week suggested Ireland’s first-choice hooker was set to miss the entire pool stage of the World Cup having been forced off with the injury late in the first half of the 29-10 victory over England last Saturday at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Sheehan, less than a month short of his 25th birthday, did not travel to France following the game for a week’s warm-weather training and Saturday’s final pre-tournament tune-up against Samoa in Bayonne at Stade Jean Auger. He instead stayed in Dublin to begin his rehabilitation and get an accurate diagnosis from a consultant.

Ireland team management were waiting for a prognosis but the outlook could be rosier than originally expected when attack coach Mike Catt on Tuesday suggested Sheehan could be selected even if he were to miss the Pool B campaign between September 9, when Ireland opens its campaign against Romania, and October 7, when it concludes in Paris against Scotland.

“Definitely. Why not? You definitely would do,” Catt said of selecting an injured Sheehan.

“He is that type of player but, again, let’s wait for the diagnosis. We don’t know what it is just yet so we’ll wait and see. But we’ve got people on standby and players that know the system, know how we want to play, but yes he would be a big loss if he wasn’t coming.”

Head coach Andy Farrell will this afternoon reveal his matchday 23 to face the Samoans and is expected to name something of mix and match starting line-up as he looks to give valuable minutes to players which need it in certain positions while also selecting a side to handle the hard-edged physicality and athletic flamboyance of the Pacific islanders.

With Sheehan absent in a rehab group back in Dublin with back-rower Jack Conan (foot) and loosehead prop Dave Kilcoyne (hamstring), and fellow hooker Ronan Kelleher on the way back from a hamstring issue of his own, Ulster hooking pair Rob Herring and Tom Stewart are the only fully fit, capped players available for selection in the number two jersey, although uncapped Munster hooker Diarmuid Barron is also in camp this week having been called up to cover Sheehan’s absence.

Selection this Saturday may offer a final opportunity for fringe members of the 38-man group to stake their final claims for inclusion in the 33-man tournament squad, which Farrell is scheduled to name on Monday at 1:30pm.