IRELAND SECOND ROW Tadhg Beirne will be sidelined for up to three months after undergoing surgery on the ankle injury he suffered against France last weekend.

There is better news for captain Johnny Sexton and hookers Rob Herring and Dan Sheehan, who look like they may be available for the clash with Italy in two weekends’ time.

The IRFU confirmed this afternoon that Beirne’s Six Nations campaign is over, with his operation taking place today.

Munster man Beirne will now be in a race to make it back for his province before the end of the season, which concludes with the URC final on 27 May. Losing Beirne is an obvious blow to the province’s hopes of advancing in the league and the Champions Cup.

He has also become a key figure with Ireland under Andy Farrell and had started both Six Nations wins against Wales and France over the past fortnight.

They will now have to do without Beirne as they bid for a Grand Slam in the coming weeks. Ulster captain Iain Henderson is expected to come into the starting team in place of Beirne, while Leinster’s Ryan Baird is also in camp this week to provide another option in the second row along with first-choice starter James Ryan.

Farrell has brought together a 25-man squad for the next two days as Ireland begin their preparations for the visit to Italy in two weekends’ time.

There was some positive injury news from Ireland camp, with Sexton continuing to rehab the groin injury he suffered against France. The hope is that the 37-year-old will be ready to return to team training next week.

Similarly, Herring is coming through his return-to-play protocols after sustaining a head injury in a high tackle from France prop Uini Atonio, while Sheehan is also recovering well from the hamstring issue that kept him out of last weekend’s clash with the French.

Ireland are optimistic about both hookers being available to face Italy, meaning a big selection call between Herring, Sheehan, and Rónan Kelleher.

Tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong [calf], scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park [hamstring], Cian Healy [hamstring], and Robbie Henshaw [wrist] are not formally part of Ireland’s 25-man squad this week but they are at the IRFU’s high performance centre as they continue their rehab.

Furlong had been hopeful of being fit for the opening Six Nations game against Wales two weekends ago but hasn’t featured yet. Easterby insisted the Leinster tighthead should be fit again before the end of the Six Nations

“Yeah, for sure,” said Easterby of Furlong. “He had awareness of his calf and how that was responding. He’s in a really good place, he knows his own body and understands how that works.

“We’re very hopeful, and so is he, that he’s going to be involved at some point in the Six Nations.

“It’s the sort of injury, like a lot of soft-tissue injuries, that you want to make sure you don’t get wrong. You want to make sure you get it right and they feel like they’ve got enough in the bank in terms of exposure to the high intensity of the game.”

Easterby said it’s a similar scenario for Gibson-Park, Healy, and Henshaw in that they should be available soon.

“They’re all around,” said Easterby. “They’re dipping in and out of doing their rehab and I guess keeping on top of their own individual work along with staying connected to the group.

“We’re hopeful that they’ll all come back into contention over the next couple of weeks.”