Ireland Scrum-Half Craig Casey to Miss Six Nations Following Knee Surgery

Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey is expected to miss the Six Nations championship after Munster confirmed he will be sidelined for “approximately four months” due to knee surgery. Casey sustained the injury and was forced off the field during the first half of Munster’s Investec Champions Cup defeat by Castres earlier this month. The 25-year-old has accumulated 18 caps for Ireland since his debut in 2021 and participated in three of their four autumn Tests last month. Ireland is scheduled to commence their Six Nations title defence on 1 February against England. The reigning champions, under the guidance of interim head coach Simon Easterby during Andy Farrell’s absence due to Lions commitments, will also play Scotland and Wales away, host France, and conclude their campaign with a trip to Italy on 15 March. In additional injury setbacks for Munster, Thaakir Abrahams and Jean Kleyn are also anticipated to be out for around four months, having undergone shoulder and thigh surgeries, respectively. Furthermore, Munster will be without Alex Nankivell and Dave Kilcoyne for their United Rugby Championship interprovincial match against Leinster on Friday. Nankivell suffered a hamstring injury, while Kilcoyne sustained a thigh injury during Munster’s 22-19 victory over Ulster last weekend. Both players are scheduled for scans to ascertain the full extent of their injuries and are unavailable for the Thomond Park fixture against Leinster. Dian Bleuler is currently completing his return to play protocols, with Munster stating that “his availability will be determined later in the week”. Diarmuid Barron, Peter O’Mahony, and Conor Murray are all recovering from injuries and are in contention to play for interim head coach Ian Costello.