Ireland teammate Parsons 'heartbroken' for Wall after injury rules her out of World Cup

Dorothy Wall underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair an Achilles tendon injury which she suffered during the Six Nations game against Scotland. 

Dorothy Wall's injury is the second major blow which Ireland has suffered ahead of the World Cup later this year. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Dorothy Wall’s mental strength will carry the Ireland forward through the double agony of her Achilles tendon injury and missing this autumn’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, her team-mate Beibhinn Parsons believes.

Wall, 24, underwent surgery in Dublin on Wednesday after being sidelined for a number of months with the injury she sustained in Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations loss to Scotland in Edinburgh last Saturday.

The IRFU said Wall’s recovery and rehabilitation process will rule her out of Ireland's pre-season and the World Cup 2025 campaign, which gets under way at the end of August.

"I'm devastated to be missing the next couple of months, but my main focus now is on my rehab programme and I'm looking forward to supporting the team in the Rugby World Cup," Wall said in an IRFU statement.

It is the second major injury blow to Ireland’s hopes of progressing through the pool stages in England, when Scott Bemand’s side will face Japan and Spain at Northampton’s Franklins Gardens before meeting defending champions New Zealand in Brighton on September 7. 

Flanker Erin King, World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, underwent surgery a fortnight ago having sustained a serious knee injury in the Six Nations round three clash with England.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner at Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, Ireland wing and ALDI ambassador Parsons, on her own journey back from the second of two leg breaks inside five months sustained last December, said she was heartbroken for Wall but promised her and King all the support they needed from their squad-mates.

“I know we're always going to be there for each other and the two of them have such good mindsets. It's really tough, missing out on a World Cup, and for Dorothy to miss out in Parma (in 2021), that time when we didn’t qualify for the last one, and now to miss this one at the last hurdle as well, it's heartbreaking.

“I'm heartbroken for her, but the way that she's dealing with it, she's so mentally resilient. She can adapt to anything. We’re there for each other, but I know she's going to be fine and make this rehab block the best that it can be.”