IRFU under fire after Joey Carbery's season-ending setback

Munster fly-half Joey Carbery’s injury-plagued season has now come to an end after further surgery to his ankle. 

The Ireland international was already nursing a wrist injury but is now ruled out until 2020/21 pre-season after dealing with a problem he has been suffering from all season. 

This issue dates back to the summer where the 24-year-old initially injured his ankle against Italy in a World Cup warm-up match. 

This looked to have put his chances of travelling to Japan in jeopardy, although he did manage to recover in time to take some part in Ireland’s disappointing campaign. 

It has since been revealed that he was managing the injury rather than actually having recovered from it and his time on the sidelines is now set to be extended. 

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The Irish Rugby Football Union have come under fire in light of this development after selecting Carbery for the RWC with accusations that his welfare was not taken into account. 

He was not fully fit in Japan and that has had long term implications for Munster and the player himself as he misses out on the rest of the province’s campaign as well as Ireland’s July tour of Australia. 

However, these were mitigating circumstances as any player would want to play at the RWC even if they are not 100 per cent fit. Likewise, ex-Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt and the Irish public wanted to see him there and he was ultimately able to play. 

Carbery has long been seen as Ireland captain Jonathan Sexton’s rival and successor, and Schmidt would have thought that his availability was pivotal to their campaign. 

While there has been some collateral damage from that decision that may not have been foreseen at the time, it is understandable that some people in Ireland feel aggrieved with how the fly-half has been treated this season. 

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