Robbie Henshaw’s hamstring strain is expected to recover ahead of next Sunday’s second Pool D game against Romania at Wembley.
Henshaw was ruled out of Saturday's 50-7 defeat of Canada, and was replaced by Luke Fitzgerald in the No 12 jersey, but the 21-year-old Connacht player is expected to train fully before Friday's team announcement.
"Robbie is good, he is progressing through his rehab," said Ireland manager Mick Kearney. "The expectation is that he will be available for selection for the Romania game on Sunday. The expectation is that he will train this week."
Joe Schmidt also indicated that Darren Cave will play in the centre next weekend.
On the team’s arrival at the English FA headquarters outside Burton on Trent, Kearney reported a clean bill of health from the 23 players who featured in Cardiff.
Asked about Japan beating the Springboks, Johnny Sexton said: "It was great. It made our performance and our result a lot better, seeing a team like Japan beat South Africa. We obviously could have been on the end of it a couple of hours earlier. The way we prepared and approached the game was really good, but we saw the flip side of what can happen in this competition if you take your eye off the ball. The gap is narrowing.
“It gives everyone a boost and anything can happen in this tournament, which is great, and it has given us an alarm call.”
“We secured the bonus point and got our points difference up so we are pretty happy but there are a lot of things to work on.”
Kearney, having extensively scouted the FA’s national centre, feel it’s ideal for low-key preparation after the last few days in a rambunctious Cardiff city.
“We looked at a number of venues down in London then came up here and were hugely impressed,” said Kearney. “I have been here three times, Joe came six months ago and was massively impressed by the whole set-up. Everything from the pitch set-up, gym, swimming pool, a full indoor facility. The hotel is top class, food is top class. Everything that a professional team would wish for in terms of preparation is here. It’s all in the grounds so we don’t need to get on buses.”
Besides Monday’s welcoming ceremony in Burton on Trent, the Ireland squad will be cocooned in the English countryside, which the the players will get a day off to wander.
“It’s ideal preparation from a match point of view,” Sexton added.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better but we obviously have a day off in there somewhere and are already saying we are going to have to get out – there is not too much to entertain ourselves. But from a preparation point of view it is ideal. That’s what we want at this time. We are pretty focused on the games. On down time we can get out and do what we want to do.”
