Four days away from the start of the Six Nations and Ireland's injury record shows no signs of slowing. It had been expected after the weekend's news but now it's been confirmed, Luke Fitzgerald is the latest member of Ireland Six Nations squad to be ruled out of the tournament.
The Leinster back pulled up during Ireland's open training session on Friday and the initial prognosis was that a medial ligament injury would keep him sidelined for six to eight weeks. That timeframe has today been confirmed by the IRFU meaning that Fitzgerald's Six Nations campaign is over before it began. A situation that the 28 year old has become all too familiar with in recent years.
Although there had here had been something of an expectation that Garry Ringrose may be called up to replace Fitzgerald, Joe Schmidt has decided against drafting in a replacement ahead of the Six Nations opener against Wales on Sunday.
Ireland team manager Mick Kearney confirmed the news at a press conference today stating that Fitzgerald was 'very upset' about the setback after he had managed to put a horrendous run of injuries behind him. And while you can't help but feel sorry for the Leinster man on a personal level, the reality of the situation is that this latest injury setback is probably the last thing Ireland needed ahead of the visit of Wales.
With Henderson, O'Mahony, Bowe and Moore all set to miss the entire tournament, Ireland's likely starting lineup on Sunday is going to be significantly different than the one Joe Schmidt would like to be selecting.
