‘Frustration’ for Robbie Henshaw with his return still on hold ahead of Italy clash

There had been some hope that Henshaw would have recovered fully by now, but he is continuing to rehab.

Henshaw linked up with the Ireland squad last week in order to step up his recovery, and while Leinster may have hoped the centre would be available to them for this weekend’s URC clash with the Dragons at the RDS, Stuart Lancaster confirmed that would not be the case.

Henshaw had targeted next week’s Italy game as his return and although he may be fit in time, he is not in line to get any game-time with his province beforehand.

“No, no,” Lancaster said. “It has taken a while, yeah, it’s frustrating for him, but the last thing anyone wants to do is bring him back early and then he gets injured again. So, we just want to be sure.”

Henshaw is not listed as one of the 25 players retained by Andy Farrell for this week’s mini camp ahead of the first break weekend in the Six Nations.

The Ireland head coach is sweating over Tadhg Beirne’s fitness after the Munster lock met with a specialist yesterday to determine the extent of the leg injury he suffered in last weekend’s 32-19 win over France.

Beirne was in a protective moon boot and on crutches after the game at the Aviva Stadium, with Farrell admitting the injury did not look good.

Johnny Sexton’s groin injury will be managed, while Rob Herring will follow the return-to-play protocols following the head injury he suffered in a tackle by French prop Uini Atonio, who has been cited.

Tadhg Furlong (calf), Jamison Gibson-Park and Cian Healy (both hamstring) are in the same boat as Henshaw, as they continue their respective rehab programmes.