Ireland suffer critical Nations Championship double injury blow as Andy Farrell left sweating
Paddy McCarthy (left) and Mack Hansen (right) are both out long-term
Ireland have suffered a major double injury blow ahead of the Nations Championship, with Mack Hansen and Paddy McCarthy both ruled out long-term.
The duo both missed Ireland’s Six Nations campaign with injuries, with Hansen not featuring at all since December while McCarthy made a brief cameo off the bench last weekend against Bordeaux-Begles after an extended period out, but it seems they will now miss the July Tests against the Wallabies, Japan and the All Blacks.
Mack Hansen ‘ruled out’ of Nations Championship Tests
Hansen has been a key man for Ireland boss Andy Farrell since his debut back in 2020, but has had an injury-riddled season this campaign and made just three appearances for club and country.
The outside back was listed as one of eight Connacht players deemed unavailable for selection ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off clash against Glasgow Warriors this Friday, and it seems he will now make his return next season.
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“He’s ruled out,” Connacht boss Stuart Lancaster told members of the media this week. “He’s running now, up and down the pitch, but he’s not running around with a rugby ball in his hand.
“So hopefully he’s going to come back into pre-season. He’s still got a lot of markers to hit and boxes to tick, but he’s definitely moving in the right direction.
“He’s very positive about everything. It’s a coordinated relationship with Ireland, so it’s all on plan. There’s no reason why Mack shouldn’t come back a better player.”
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Paddy McCarthy
Like Hansen, McCarthy has also really struggled with injuries this season and spent five months on the physio table before his return last weekend in Bilbao, but he was later seen on crutches at the final whistle and has again been ruled out for at least the rest of the URC season and could be a doubt for the summer tour too.
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“Paddy McCarthy will be unavailable for the rest of the season after picking up an injury in the Investec Champions Cup final at the weekend,” a Leinster statement read.
This brings the curtain down on arguably what was building up to be his breakthrough season. After making just six senior appearances in his first two years with Leinster, McCarthy featured 10 times this campaign before his injury and also made his Ireland Test bow in November, and added a further three caps across the Autumn Nations Series.