After one of his best games yet in the Ireland jersey, this was the last thing Joey Carbery needed.
The Leinster back may be out for the rest of the year, and a decent chunk of 2018, after injuring his arm in the 23-20 victory over Fiji at the Aviva Stadium.
Carbery set up Darren Sweetnam’s opening try, kicked one of three conversions and was at the heart of some of Ireland’s best plays until he left injured midway through the second half.
He had come in for some rough treatment in the first half but kept dusting himself off and getting set in the defensive line again.
Carbery was making his sixth appearance for Ireland, since his debut against New Zealand last year, and only his second start.
Following the game, Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt told RTE:
“There may be a fracture there, we certainly hope not but that may be case.”
In the post-game press briefing, Schmidt elaborated on the 22-year-old’s plight by saying the versatile back would be getting assessed by medics later this evening and having a scan on his left arm. Schmidt commented:
“Yeah, I think he has fractured his left forearm… We’ll update it on Monday. We can’t absolutely confirm it but that looks to be the case.”
Carbery was also injured on his last start for Ireland – damaging his ankle in the tour win over the United States.
