CJ Stander out for four weeks as injury-hit Irish regroup

Flanker CJ Stander is in a fight to be fit before the end of Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations campaign due to suspected facial fractures.
CJ Stander sustained a facial injury in Dublin on Saturday.Picture: GettyCJ Stander sustained a facial injury in Dublin on Saturday.Picture: Getty
CJ Stander sustained a facial injury in Dublin on Saturday.Picture: Getty

Ireland expect Stander to be sidelined “for up to four weeks” following the nasty-looking facial injury he sustained in Saturday’s 32-20 home loss to England.

Lock Devin Toner, wing Keith Earls and centre Garry
Ringrose are all fitness doubts for this Saturday’s trip to face Scotland at Murrayfield.

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British and Irish Lions star Stander will hope he is able to return in time for Ireland’s final two Six Nations matches, against France and Wales.

“CJ Stander has a facial injury that could rule him out for up to four weeks,” said an IRFU statement.

“Keith Earls suffered a hip pointer injury and will be managed across the early part of the week.

“Devin Toner aggravated an ankle injury and Garry Ringrose reported some hamstring tightness. Both will be further assessed by 
the medical team over the next 24 hours.

“Andrew Conway presented with some calf tightness following training last Thursday and will rehab in Munster this week.”

Stander’s absence is a blow to head coach Joe Schmidt, with the South Africa-born back-rower proving a physical mainstay across 29 
Ireland caps since his 2016 debut.

Stander’s brother-in-law Ryk Neethling tweeted on Saturday night “proud of CJ Stander playing 62mins with two fractures in his cheek and eye socket”, though Ireland are yet to confirm the full extent of the injuries.

A four-week lay-off could see Stander return for the Sunday, 10 March home clash with France, with the final clash in Wales on 16 March another likely target.

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Leinster lock Toner’s injury concern could dent Ireland’s already depleted second-row stocks still further.

British and Irish Lions lock Iain Henderson is sidelined with a finger complaint and in-form Munster star Tadhg Beirne a knee issue.

Any further lock injuries could severely test Ireland’s tight-five depth.

Ireland have not yet called a replacement into their squad however, hinting that they expect the 32-year-old 
to recover in time to face 
Scotland this weekend.

Ulster’s versatile back Will Addison could slot into midfield should Ringrose not shake off his hamstring 
worry, while Schmidt will 
still ponder whether to run Robbie Henshaw again at full-back.

Despite the injury problems, Ireland flanker Peter O’Mahony is confident the team can bounce back when they take on the Scots in Edinburgh.

O’Mahony admitted that Schmidt’s men are hurting from losing their opening fixture of the championship and are desperate to kick-start their campaign.

“Yeah, look, what we do is we go out and train well,” the 29-year-old told reporters yesterday. “It hurts. That bit of hurt will be there this week, you want to go and win for Ireland more than anything.

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“That has a match under it then when you’ve lost in front of your own crowd. It’s something we haven’t done in a while. These people pay huge amount of money to come and see us. Every time we come and play at the Aviva we have it full, they follow us all over Europe and around the world.

“The last place you want to let them down is at home. Naturally, the beast is you want to put it right. That’s what we have to go and do this week.”

O’Mahony was asked if he believed Ireland could still win this year’s Six Nations and defend the title they won so convincingly in 2018. “Absolutely,” he replied. But he knows that they will have a tough job putting things right at Murrayfield if they don’t learn their lessons from the defeat by England.

“Guys know what the story is,” he added. “Look, we hold ourselves personally, and as a squad, more accountable than anyone else will. The lads are hurting more than anyone.

“But we can’t sit around here feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to take our review on the chin, dust ourselves off and try and get back into the week. There’s a lot of rugby to be played between now and the end of the campaign.

“We won’t be looking past Saturday because you could get caught by an excellent Scottish team. You can’t afford to do that now.”