Veteran tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong has been ruled out of Ireland ’s Six Nations opener against England on Saturday due to injury, the IRFU announced.
Leinster scrum anchor Furlong, capped 78 times, injured his calf during a training camp in Portugal and has returned home for further assessment.
The 32-year-old has been replaced in the squad by Jack Aungier of Connacht for this week’s game in Dublin.
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“Tadhg Furlong has been ruled out of the opening week’s game after suffering a recurrence of a calf strain in training on Saturday,” said an IRFU statement on Sunday.
Furlong has been plagued by injury worries in recent months, missing all four of Ireland’s November internationals with a hamstring problem.
He returned for Leinster in their win over La Rochelle in the Investec Champions Cup earlier in January but then missed the 47-21 win over Bath in the same competition almost two weeks ago.
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