Simon Zebo to miss rest of Six Nations after injury

IRELAND wing Simon Zebo will miss the rest of the RBS Six Nations after breaking a bone in his foot in yesterday’s defeat by England.

He will undergo an operation today and has been ruled out for up to ten weeks.

The prognosis on Jonathan Sexton’s hamstring injury was less grave, with coach Declan Kidney estimating a two-week lay-off for the Leinster fly-half, Flanker Sean O’Brien (tight hamstring), lock Mike McCarthy (knee ligament strain), centre Brian O’Driscoll (twisted ankle) and lock Donnacha Ryan (back) also sustained injuries, but have yet to be ruled out against Scotland in two weeks time.

“It’s been an attritional couple of games and we had a few injuries leading into the tournament, but that’s the way it goes” Kidney said.

Four penalties by Owen Farrell underpinned England’s first win in Dublin since 2003 and ensured Stuart Lancaster’s team now stand alone in the quest for a Grand Slam.

Ireland controlled long spells of the match but were guilty of some dismal handling, even with the slippery conditions taken into account.

“I don’t want to blame the conditions because both teams played in them,” explained captain Jamie Heaslip.

“There were a lot of knock-ons and unforced errors. There are a lot of sore guys in the changing room, because of the hits they took but also because they lost in a green jersey at home.”

Ireland will remain in title contention if England lose one of their remaining three games and Kidney refused to concede his team’s dream of winning the championship is over.

“There’s still a hell of a lot to play for. We have three more opportunities to get three wins. Let’s get to eight points and see where we are at the end of it,” he said.