Gordon D’Arcy has finally gone under the knife in a bid to cure an ankle injury – but Ireland bosses are convinced he will be fit for their World Cup warm-up matches.
The 31-year-old, who has won 57 caps since making his debut in 1999, injured his right ankle as Leinster came back from the brink to beat Northampton in the Heineken Cup Final at the end of May.
Centre D’Arcy, who won his last cap in this year’s RBS 6 Nations thrashing of England, had not responded to initial treatment to solve the problems and a decision was taken to have surgery in a bid to avoid him missing the World Cup.
He missed the first of Ireland’s preparation camps this week in Kildare but Declan Kidney fully expects to have him available for the clashes with Scotland, France and England.
But Kidney has been given a huge boost with flanker Stephen Ferris resuming full training for the first time since January.
The Ulster star missed the entire Six Nations campaign with a knee injury but is set to rejoin the international ranks in the coming weeks.
