Ronan Kelleher ruled out of Six Nations with shoulder injury

The IRFU have confirmed that Rónan Kelleher has been ruled out of the remainder of our Guinness 2022 Six Nations campaign with the shoulder injury which forced him off in the 26th minute of last Saturday's 30-24 defeat by France.

The 24-year-old hooker will thus miss the games against Italy, England and Scotland, although the exact nature of the injury has not been revealed and so it remains whether Kelleher will have recovered in time for Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup games against Connacht in April.

Kelleher’s ill-timed injury is likely to open the door for fellow hooker Dan Sheehan, who is thus in line to make his first Six Nations start against Italy at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday week. The 23-year-old Leinster lock has won four caps off the bench, beginning with the games against Japan and Argentina last November and the opening two Six Nations games against Wales and France, where his strength on both sides of the ball impressed in the Stade de France.

Kelleher’s loss has been offset by the return to fitness of Ulster’s Rob Herring, who missed the first two rounds of the Six Nations. Connacht’s Dave Heffernan is also in contention, having initially been called up to replace Herring in the Ireland squad.