Ireland are set to be without Chris Farrell for the remainder of the Six Nations after he suffered ligament damage to his knee in training on Tuesday.
The Munster centre - man of the match in Ireland's win over Wales last weekend - received treatment on the field after twisting his knee in the turf.
Just three days after making his Six Nations debut last Saturday, the 24 year-old looked to be in considerable pain towards the end of the session, but rejoined the final huddle after treatment.
“He jumped back into the huddle and was described as Lazarus by the lads,” laughed Schmidt, prior to realising the extent of the injury. “He just got his foot caught and twisted and fell and then got a bit of a fright. He certainly was jogging around. I’ve just come from chatting to him and he says he is absolutely fine. We don’t suspect that there’s any issue there.”
Farrell was sent for a precautionary scan this afternoon which indicated some ligament damage had occurred and he will now see a specialist. The IRFU have said that he “is unlikely to be available for the remainder of the Six Nations.”
Ireland are already without the injured Jared Payne for the tournament, and Robbie Henshaw's Six Nations was also cut short through a shoulder injury sustained during the win against Italy. Garry Ringrose however returned to action for Leinster last weekend and if he gets through Saturday's Pro14 clash with Scarlets he will come back into contention for the Scotland match on March 10th.
