Brian O'Driscoll is expected to be fit for Ireland's southern hemisphere tour in June but the captain is likely to be sidelined for two months by the hamstring tear he suffered in the Six Nations defeat to Wales in Croke Park.
O'Driscoll limped off in the 75th minute of yesterday's 16-12 win for Wales. The Leinster centre will undergo a scan tomorrow to asses the extent of the damage but coach Eddie O'Sullivan is confident he will be available for the summer tour.
Ireland play New Zealand in Wellington on June 7th before heading to Melbourne to meet Australia a week later.
"I don't think Brian will miss out against the All Blacks and Wallabies," O'Sullivan said this morning.
"We don't know how bad the injury is but talking to him last night I don't think it's too serious, but the only real proof will be in the scan.
"I think he'll be gone for six to eight weeks, but that's a guess. This is the third time he's endured the exact same injury. He got hit when stripping the ball — his stock and trade — and his foot splayed.
"He got it in Rome three years ago and also for Leinster during a Heineken Cup (game)."
O'Driscoll will miss the Six Nations finale against England in Twickenham on Saturday, which leaves O'Sullivan short of options in midfield after a fractured forearm ruled Gordon D'Arcy out for the entire tournament.
Shane Horgan, who began on the wing against Wales, is the most likely candidate to come in and partner Andrew Trimble, but O'Sullivan admits he has a selection headache before naming his team on Tuesday.
"It's a bit early to say what I'll do but if you were looking for an experienced midfielder, you'd be looking at Shane Horgan," said O'Sullivan.
"At the moment we have Gordon and Brian injured and they are our only guys playing regularly in the centre. Andrew Trimble's played centre for Ulster but also a lot on the wing and Shane's played for Leinster on the wing.
"We don't have a load of guys playing regularly in the centre who are hanging around. It's not as if we have an abundance of options. It's a bit of a conundrum for sure."
Trimble replaced D'Arcy at inside centre after he was injured in the tournament opener against Italy and has done well there ever since. Horgan's inclusion, however, will most likely move him to outside centre.
O'Sullivan will therefore hope to have either Geordan Murphy or Girvan Dempsey back from injury to allow Rob Kearney to move back to the left wing and Tommy Bowe back over to the right to replace Horgan.
Kearney stepped in at fullback against Wales, and impressed, but the coach will be eager to restore some experience to the back three with either Murphy or Dempsey.
