We're now about a month and a half away from the start of the World Cup and things are getting serious. With the first of the warm-up games getting underway next weekend, thoughts are very much turning towards the business end of things.
Who is going to be in Joe Schmidt's final squad and who is going to miss out. While form will have the biggest part to play in that, there's always the possibility that injury could be a decisive factor and in that sense, it's Cian Healy who, at this moment in time, has the most to lose.
After undergoing a neck operation in May, we were told Healy's recovery time would be significant. However, the closer we get to September, the more significant that recovery becomes. Up until now, the doubts surrounding Healy's participation have largely been hearsay.
Despite reports that Healy was in danger of missing the World Cup, his appearance at an open training session in Cork during the week ensured that quite a few people were able to breath a sigh of relief. However, the Ireland prop is still far from a certainty to be included in the final squad.
An interview with Joe Schmidt in yesterday's Sunday Independent has served to clear some things up and it's not necessarily for the better.
We know he's making progress. He's a quality individual in the camp, and a quality player, so we'll give him as long as we can to make enough progress so we're comfortable he can reintegrate fully into playing the game.
Potentially we'd like to get him into one of the last couple (of warm-ups) and there's a chance of that. If he's made enough progress and is training fully but hasn't played prior to England, and we don't select him for that, then we've got a tough decision to make.
With the final warm-up game against England coming on September 5th, all eyes will be firmly fixed on this time next month to see if Schmidt feels the Leinster man is fit to take his place in the front row.
