Munster injury update leaves Joey Carbery in race for Six Nations

Joey Carbery is set to potentially miss the start of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations campaign with Ireland after Munster confirmed that the out-half fractured his elbow in last Sunday's Heineken Champions Cup win at Wasps and will have an operation this Thursday. The 26-year-old had recently hoped he had put years of injury torment behind him. 

He had travelled to the 2019 World Cup carrying an injury and it wasn't until the 2021 July series versus Japan and the USA that he returned to the Test scene, starting for Ireland in those victories before then shadowing veteran Johnny Sexton in last month's wins over Japan and the All Blacks. 

Carbery went on to start for Ireland against Argentina in the Autumn Nations Series finale after Sexton was injured against New Zealand, but his encouraging run has now suffered a setback following a painful late second-half landing in Coventry following a tackle from Robin Hislop. 

Injuries of this nature usually take around six weeks to fully heal and that time frame would take Carbery through to the end of January before an Ireland campaign that begins at home to Wales on February 5. 

Before that he will likely miss all three of Munster's remaining Champions Cup pool matches, starting with his unavailability for this Saturday's home assignment versus Castres in Limerick. A Munster medical bulletin update on Tuesday said: "There is disappointing news on the injury front as Joey Carbery suffered an elbow fracture on Sunday and will require surgery on Thursday."

Meanwhile, having started their European campaign with a win despite having so many players unavailable due to quarantine, a further update on that situation was also issued. "The majority of the 34-person travelling party that returned from South Africa on Wednesday, December 1, have completed their quarantine period. The 14 players and staff that were quarantined in Cape Town have all safely returned home.

"Despite recent Covid infection with recovery, they have been required to undertake an additional period of self-isolation as advised by public health. Our priority is the health and wellbeing of our players and staff, and we are hugely grateful to those involved and their families for the manner in which they are handling this situation."