Ireland duo Brian O’Driscoll and Sean O’Brien have been forced to miss Saturday’s World Cup warm-up fixture against England with injury.
Outside centre O’Driscoll damaged his shoulder during Ireland’s 26-22 loss to France last weekend, while back row O’Brien suffered a knee injury in the same game.
Both players are expected to be fit for the World Cup but coach Declan Kidney has explained that the pair are being rested for the match as a precautionary measure.
"Brian picked up a knock against France," Kidney told a press conference. "He's running around outside, but it was prudent to us not to put him into a contact situation on Saturday. He has made good progress, especially over the last 24 hours.
"Sean will be fine, it wasn't prudent to include him this weekend. But as you can see he's in training already and he'll work his way back in."
The match at the Aviva Stadium will be Ireland’s last before leaving for the tournament in New Zealand.
Liam Apicella
