The situation surrounding Malcolm O'Kelly's involvement in top flight international rugby this year appears to have taken a turn for the worse after the Ireland A captain this morning withdrew from the side to face England Saxons in Ravenhill tomorrow evening.
O'Kelly has suffered a recurrence of the chronic knee injury that prevented him from making the squads for the Six Nations opener against Wales and this Sunday's rugby debut in Croke Park against France.
Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan yesterday felt the Leinster lock was ready to return to action as skipper of the A side. He then hoped O'Kelly, who remains Ireland's most capped player having played 83 times for the senior side, might get a Celtic League game under his belt before considering him for a return in the senior side against England.
O'Sullivan insisted yesterday that O'Kelly had not dropped to fourth in the pecking order behind the Munster trio Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan and Mick O'Driscoll, but that he merely needed to get match fitness.
"It would be misleading to say he's fallen back in the pecking order, I think it's just managing him back. And because it's a chronic injury and something that has been bothering him for a while, we can't take the risk of having him on the bench on Sunday," said the coach.
Having only played half a game in the last month and broken down in training a couple of times recently, this latest setback now casts fresh doubts over his availability for the rest of the Six Nations, and maybe even the World Cup in France in September.
O'Kelly's former teammate Leo Cullen, who will return to the province from Leicester at the end of the season, has been called up from the bench to replace the former Templeogue College player and will also captain the side.
David Gannon of Connacht moves on to the bench.
Meanwhile, flanker Stephen Ferris, who won his first Ireland cap against the Pacific Islands in the autumn, has signed a two-year contract extension with Ulster that will keep him at Ravenhill until the end of the 2008-09 season.
Ferris debuted for Ulster against Borders in 2005 and will start alongside Keith Gleeson and Roger Wilson in the back three against England tomorrow.
Ireland A:Danny Riordan, Tommy Bowe, Barry Murphy, Kieran Lewis, Rob Kearney, Ian Humphreys, Conor O'Loughlin, Ronnie McCormack, Frankie Sheahan, Bryan Young, Trevor Hogan, Leo Cullen (Captain), Stephen Ferris, Keith Gleeson, Roger Wilson
Replacements: Bernard Jackman, Peter Bracken, David Gannon, Shane Jennings, Kieran Campbell, Johnny Sexton, John Hearty
Not considered due to injury:
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster), Ray Hogan (Galwegians/Connacht), Malcolm O'Kelly (St.Mary's College/Leinster), David Quinlan (Northampton), Jeremy Staunton (Wasps).
