IRELAND BACK ROW Jordi Murphy will have a scan on his rib injury in Japan today, with concerns remaining about his participation in the remainder of the World Cup.
The 28-year-old only joined up with Ireland’s squad on Monday as an injury replacement for Jack Conan but lasted just 26 minutes of yesterday’s win over Russia before being forced off in clear pain.
Murphy was injured in a first-half maul. Jayne Russell / INPHO
Jayne Russell / INPHO / INPHO
It had been hoped that Murphy would undergo a scan last night but he was randomly selected for an anti-doping test following Ireland’s 35-0 victory, delaying his departure from Kobe Misaki Stadium to the extent that the medical facility where his scan would have taken place was closed.
It means Murphy will instead be scanned today as Ireland pack their bags and head for their new base in Fukuoka, where they face Samoa on Saturday 12 October.
“He’s going to get scanned today,” said assistant coach Greg Feek today. “That will give us exact detail on what’s happened.
Advertisement
“We know it’s the ribs but that scan will determine what his plan will be. The cartilage normally pops out, sometimes that can pop back in but that can be tender for a while.
“These things can settle down. Sometimes the spot on the body can make it better or worse. I think we’ll give him the best chance to get it right.
“With the weekend off and a decent turnaround to the next game, we’ll assess him and go from there.”
Ireland will, of course, have a contingency plan in place if Murphy is ruled out for a number of weeks with his rib injury.
Tommy O’Donnell is the other back row who featured in Ireland’s extended pre-season squad ahead of the World Cup, although Devin Toner could be called on, perhaps freeing Tadhg Beirne to focus on playing in the back row.
But Ireland remain hopeful that the news on Murphy in the next day or two will be positive and allow him to remain in Japan.
Murphy only arrived in the country on Sunday. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“You don’t like to see anyone going home, it was the same last week with Jack,” said Ireland captain Rory Best.
“You understand that it’s part and parcel of rugby, especially in World Cups because you only have 31 players. You can’t afford to hang on to somebody and hope they will be alright in a week or two. You don’t have that luxury of time.
“From our point of view, Jordi is a great guy to have out here. He’s very popular amongst the squad and he’s a fantastic player. For us, we want to keep all our best players out here and it would be a real shame if there was something.
“But we can only take it for what it is. Rib is one of those things that sometimes looks a lot worse and a lot more painful coming off the pitch than it actually is. Hopefully, that will settle down pretty quickly.”
As for Joey Carbery, who was withdrawn from yesterday’s game at a late stage due to aggravating his ankle injury, the outlook remains unclear.
Conor Murray took Carbery’s place on the Ireland bench yesterday but was not used as a replacement.
“We’ll wait and see how it goes,” said Feek of Carbery. “It was more precautionary than anything. There are a few unlucky instances in rugby where you might get a little stamp.
“So rather than take a risk, you minimise that and to be fair to Luke McGrath he got through the 80 minutes well.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
17 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'You don't like to see anyone going home' - Ireland hopeful on Jordi Murphy
LAST UPDATE | 4 Oct 2019
IRELAND BACK ROW Jordi Murphy will have a scan on his rib injury in Japan today, with concerns remaining about his participation in the remainder of the World Cup.
The 28-year-old only joined up with Ireland’s squad on Monday as an injury replacement for Jack Conan but lasted just 26 minutes of yesterday’s win over Russia before being forced off in clear pain.
It had been hoped that Murphy would undergo a scan last night but he was randomly selected for an anti-doping test following Ireland’s 35-0 victory, delaying his departure from Kobe Misaki Stadium to the extent that the medical facility where his scan would have taken place was closed.
It means Murphy will instead be scanned today as Ireland pack their bags and head for their new base in Fukuoka, where they face Samoa on Saturday 12 October.
“He’s going to get scanned today,” said assistant coach Greg Feek today. “That will give us exact detail on what’s happened.
“We know it’s the ribs but that scan will determine what his plan will be. The cartilage normally pops out, sometimes that can pop back in but that can be tender for a while.
“These things can settle down. Sometimes the spot on the body can make it better or worse. I think we’ll give him the best chance to get it right.
“With the weekend off and a decent turnaround to the next game, we’ll assess him and go from there.”
Ireland will, of course, have a contingency plan in place if Murphy is ruled out for a number of weeks with his rib injury.
Tommy O’Donnell is the other back row who featured in Ireland’s extended pre-season squad ahead of the World Cup, although Devin Toner could be called on, perhaps freeing Tadhg Beirne to focus on playing in the back row.
But Ireland remain hopeful that the news on Murphy in the next day or two will be positive and allow him to remain in Japan.
“You don’t like to see anyone going home, it was the same last week with Jack,” said Ireland captain Rory Best.
“You understand that it’s part and parcel of rugby, especially in World Cups because you only have 31 players. You can’t afford to hang on to somebody and hope they will be alright in a week or two. You don’t have that luxury of time.
“From our point of view, Jordi is a great guy to have out here. He’s very popular amongst the squad and he’s a fantastic player. For us, we want to keep all our best players out here and it would be a real shame if there was something.
“But we can only take it for what it is. Rib is one of those things that sometimes looks a lot worse and a lot more painful coming off the pitch than it actually is. Hopefully, that will settle down pretty quickly.”
As for Joey Carbery, who was withdrawn from yesterday’s game at a late stage due to aggravating his ankle injury, the outlook remains unclear.
Conor Murray took Carbery’s place on the Ireland bench yesterday but was not used as a replacement.
“We’ll wait and see how it goes,” said Feek of Carbery. “It was more precautionary than anything. There are a few unlucky instances in rugby where you might get a little stamp.
“So rather than take a risk, you minimise that and to be fair to Luke McGrath he got through the 80 minutes well.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Concern Greg Feek Ireland Rory Best Russia RWC2019 Samoa World Cup