VIDEO: Ireland's No.9 options take a hit

INJURY UPDATE: Ireland will have to readjust their halfback options for the Six Nations.

Ireland scrumhalf Luke McGrath has been ruled out of the Six Nations after being ruled out for up to eight weeks by his Pro14 side Leinster.

The No.9 sustained a knee ligament injury during Leinster’s Champions Cup win against Toulouse last weekend.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt will name his squad on Wednesday and despite the No.9 jumper belonging to Conor Murray, Kieran Marmon and John Cooney will both be hoping to snap up the replacement jersey.

Ireland flyhalf Jonathan Sexton remains a huge concern, especially with Leinster confirming that the star will miss the European Champions Cup clash against Wasps at the Ricoh Arena.

Sexton suffered a knee tendon injury against Munster on December 29 and has not played since.

“Johnny has been rehabbing a tendon in his knee and the week’s not long enough, he just ran out of time,” said Leinster scrum coach John Fogarty. “He’s not far off at all but unfortunately for us, he’s run out of time.

“We’ve made the decision, so Ross [Byrne] is there to cover. For Johnny, I don’t see it being a huge issue for him going forward. He just needs to be in the right space physically so he can perform.

“That’s our focus here, we want our players to be in the best physical condition so they can perform for us and for the national team. Johnny will get himself right and will be back.”

The Grand Slam champions start their Six Nations campaign against England on Saturday, February 3.