Van Graan says Joey Carbery’s race to be fit for RWC will be tight

Johann van Graan has admitted Joey Carbery’s race to be fit for the World Cup will be a close run thing after the Munster outhalf visited the province’s high performance centre in the University of Limerick at the end of last week.

The 24-year-old Carbery is recuperating from an operation on the ankle he injured in Ireland’s opening World Cup warm-up win over Italy, with an estimated recovery period of four to six weeks.

“I had a chat with him, and he’s going to give himself every chance to be ready. He’s under the guidance of the national team’s medical team and I’m sure they’ll make the best decision for them and for him and whatever decision they make, I’m sure it will be the right one.

“He’s really pumped to get there. Obviously getting to a World Cup, at that age and in that form...I think he’s been in brilliant form over the last 12 months, so I think he’s looking forward to it very much.

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“But you’re body’s got to work with you and these things happen. We’ve seen all the Test matches and guys get injured, so he’ll give it every shot to be ready.”