Ireland suffer another injury blow ahead of England clash

INJURY UPDATE: Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has lost another lock to injury ahead of his team’s Six Nations opener against England in Dublin on February 2.

Iain Henderson’s man-of-the-match performance for Ulster against Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup came at a price, as a finger injury will sideline him for several weeks according to an Ulster injury bulletin.

This fresh injury, which is unrelated to his recently injured thumb, rules him out of Ireland’s plans for their opening Six Nations games against England and Scotland.

Ireland also lost versatile forward Tadhg Beirne to a knee injury after last weekend’s Champions Cup action.

Meanwhile, Ulster also confirmed that flank Sean Reidy suffered a hand injury against Tigers which will require surgery later this week.

Billy Burns (concussion) will follow the return-to-play protocols, while Marcell Coetzee will have a hamstring injury scanned.

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