Larmour ruled out for 16 weeks as Lowe to remain with Ireland squad

Leinster have confirmed that Jordan Larmour is set to be out of action for up to 16 weeks following a procedure on a shoulder injury. Larmour had initially been named in Andy Farrell's Ireland squad for the upcoming Six Nations games against Italy and France, before suffering a dislocated shoulder in the province's Pro14 win against Benetton.

While it was anticipated that Larmour would play no part in the Autumn Test window, the news that he could be sidelined for four months represents a major blow for the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile the IRFU have confirmed that Larmour's Leinster teammate James Lowe will remain with the Ireland squad as they head into their rescheduled Six Nations fixtures games against Italy and France.

Lowe was part of the small group of players who had been training with Farrell's squad without being named in the 35-man squad for the Six Nations fixtures. The IRFU have now confirmed that while Dave Kearney, James Tracey, Harry Byrne, Craig Casey and Fineen Wycherley have all returned to their provinces, Lowe will be staying on with the group rather than reporting back for club duty.

Lowe becomes eligible to play for Ireland in early November, so Farrell will have to wait until the Autumn Nations Cup before handing the Leinster flyer his international debut.

Meanwhile Munster pair Peter O'Mahony and Chris Farrell have joined up with the Ireland squad today. The pair had been in isolation after being deemed close contacts of two provincial teammates who had tested positive for Covid-19.

While Larmour's lengthy absence had been anticipated and having already lost Max Deegan to an ACL injury, Farrell could also be without a number of other Leinster stars for the foreseeable future, with the province outlining that there is no further update on the fitness of Ryan Baird or Tadhg Furlong.

Baird will miss the Italy and France games after suffering an adductor injury but there is hope he will return in time to play some part in the Autumn Nations Cup. Furlong has yet to feature since the rugby restart, and is continuing to rehab a calf issue.

Meanwhile Dave Kearney has returned to full training after recovering from a hamstring injury and will be available for selection for Leinster's Pro14 meeting with Zebre on Friday.

Ciarán Frawley has passed the graduated return to play protocols after his injury in the Round 1 game against the Dragons and also returns to full training this week, while Dan Sheehan has recovered from a fractured cheekbone.

Dan Leavy will look to further increase his training load as he continues his return from a long-term knee injury, while there was no further update on Conor O’Brien (hamstring) or Adam Byrne (hamstring).