Andy Farrell insists injured Ireland trio will be fit for World Cup

Andy Farrell insists injured Ireland trio Jack Conan, Dave Kilcoyne and Ronan Kelleher will definitely be fit for the World Cup.

Back-rower Conan suffered a foot problem in his country’s 33-17 win over Italy on August 5, while prop Kilcoyne and hooker Kelleher have minor hamstring issues.

They will each miss Saturday’s clash with England in Dublin and are also expected to sit out Ireland’s final warm-up match against Samoa next weekend.

Yet head coach Farrell is confident the trio will be available for his side’s World Cup opener against Romania on September 9 in Bordeaux.

“Jack is still ongoing,” said Farrell. “Him, David Kilcoyne and Ronan Kelleher, they’re not long-term.

“Whether they’re going to be fit for next week for the final warm-up against Samoa, probably not.

“Will they be fit for the start of the World Cup and available for selection? Definitely, yes.”

Farrell on Wednesday cut his preliminary squad down to 38 players by releasing Gavin Coombes, Calvin Nash, Caolin Blade, Kieran Treadwell and Jamie Osborne after adding Jeremy Loughman as cover for Kilcoyne.

He is due to name his final 33-man selection on August 28.

Having completely changed his starting XV for the visit of Steve Borthwick’s side, only suspended captain Johnny Sexton and the sidelined Kelleher will not have seen warm-up action before the tournament.

Farrell’s strong team for the weekend includes a first Test start for Connacht “warrior” Cian Prendergast, who went on last year’s tour of New Zealand and has been picked at number eight.

“I just see improvement all the time,” he said of the 23-year-old.

“He came to New Zealand with us very raw, came back into Connacht and, to be fair, he’s always been a standout performer for Connacht, just because of his fight, his energy, he’s a warrior of a type of player.

“He’s fit, tough but there’s all sorts of his game that he needs to tidy up and over the last eight weeks we’ve seen that in abundance so I’m excited to see him play at the weekend.

“His feel in and around the game has improved, not just decision-making with ball in hand, which has made his skill level a lot better, but also his decision-making defensively.

“He’s always been one to chase absolutely everything. His discipline has been something we’ve needed to talk about from time to time but his all-round game is getting more balance.

“I’m sure it’s not going to be perfect at the weekend but I’m excited to see him play.”