Rugby World Cup: Ireland unable to offer Joey Carbery selection guarantees
- Published
Carbery scored a try before having to go off injured in Ireland's win over Italy on 10 August
Ireland have refused to offer injured fly-half Joey Carbery any guarantees over World Cup selection.
An ankle injury means the Munster fly-half faces a race against time to be fit for Ireland's campaign which starts against Scotland on 22 September.
"We'll make an assessment a little bit closer," said Ireland skills coach Richie Murphy.
"We're very happy with where he's at but whether there's a spot for him or not will depend on other players."
Murphy added: "Opportunities will go to the likes of Jack (Carty) and Ross (Byrne) as well as Johnny (Sexton) getting game-time over the next few weeks."
Jacob Stockdale
Asked if Ireland would take an injured player to Japan in their final 31-man World Cup squad, Murphy replied: "We have left that quite open at the moment and we have conversations in and around the make-up of the squad.
"Joey is doing really, really well. Obviously, the time-frame around his injury has been well-stated.
"He's exactly where the medics would expect him to be at the moment.
"He's definitely trying to get back for that first Scotland game, but it's a case of how we manage that and also manage the squad."
Backs trio miss training on Tuesday
Ireland saw off Italy 29-10 in their opening World Cup warm-up match in Dublin, but face a serious hike in intensity against Eddie Jones' England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Accomplished backline trio Sexton, Robbie Henshaw and Keith Earls all missed training at Ireland's training camp in Portugal on Tuesday but Murphy remained unconcerned.
"Robbie Henshaw, Johnny (Sexton) sat it out with a bit of soreness, Keith Earls also sat it out," said Murphy.
"There's no real fears about them. It's just about managing them and getting their work-load right for possibly involvement this week and, if not, the following week."