Jonathan Sexton on course to return in time for France game

Jonathan Sexton remains on course to be available for Ireland’s second game of the Six Nations at home to France on February 14th.

Sources in Racing Metro confirm the Irish outhalf is making good progress after being advised to rest from playing for 12 weeks after sustaining four concussions in the last year. He should receive the all-clear for a return to full contact work from a Parisian neurologist, Dr Jean-François Cherman, the week before the French game.

Sexton is now more than halfway through his 12-week recovery timeframe, dating back to Ireland's win over Australia near the end of November when he was forced from the field after a clash of heads with Rob Kearney.

The 29-year-old is reportedly making good progress in his recovery and is training fully apart from contact work with Racing, be it skills sessions with the rest of the squad, or kicking practice and weights sessions.

Sexton had only suffered one bout of concussion in his entire career prior to being forced off toward the end of Ireland's title-winning Six Nations victory over France in Paris last March following a collision with Mathieu Bastareaud. However, he also had to be replaced in Ireland's opening Guinness Series win over South Africa in the 79th minute and again a fortnight later in the 79th minute after that clash with Kearney.

The player had suffered headaches and dizzy spells following his return to training in the third week following the Australian game, on foot of which he underwent tests with Cherman, who advised him not to play for 12 weeks. One of the flip sides of his enforced absence from matches was that it afforded Sexton the opportunity to go home for Christmas with his wife, Laura, and boy, Luca.

Subsequent tests have shown a marked improvement, and all going well Dr Cherman is expected to ratify Sexton’s return to play when assessing him in the first week of the Six Nations. Ireland will have to begin the defence of their title against Italy in Rome without him.

Torn quadricep

Ironically, Sexton was unavailable for Joe Schmidt’s first five games as Leinster coach back at the start of the 2010-11 season, when the player’s delayed return and extended pre-season as part of the Irish Player Welfare Programme was then compounded by injury when he sustained a torn quadricep.

He played his first game for Leinster under Schmidt in the Heineken Cup which, in a further irony, was a 38-22 win at home to Racing Metro.

Similarly, Sexton made his seasonal reappearance in a test match at the start of the 2011-12 campaign away to Scotland in an August World Cup warm-up match, as did all others that season, and as will be the case next August in the build-up to the 2015 World Cup.

Schmidt will have to choose between Ian Madigan, Paddy Jackson and Ian Keatley to face Italy. But it would be surprising if Sexton wasn't involved a week later against the French presuming he is given the all-clear to return.

Projected comeback

In what capacity remains to be seen, as the games could well come thick and fast for Sexton at that juncture given Racing host Clermont Auvergne in the week after the French game and then, a week after Ireland host England in round three of the Six Nations, the Parisian club are at home to Grenoble.

However his projected comeback is managed, if as is now anticipated, Sexton is given the all-clear to return in the second week of the Six Nations, he will be straining at the leash after 12 weeks on the sidelines.