Schmidt has to decide between Sexton and Jackson

Ireland's injury concerns look to be easing ahead of Saturday's Six Nations Championship match against Italy at the Aviva stadium.

Jonathan Sexton, who suffered thumb ligament damage in the 13-10 defeat by England at Twickenham, took a limited part at training this morning. He switched in and out with Paddy Jackson at outhalf in terms of running the backline.

The most pertinent question is whether Ireland coach Joe Schmidt wants him to play against the Italians. That will be answered definitively when the team is announced on Thursday lunch-time.

Brian O'Driscoll will become the world's most capped player if he makes his 140th appearance against the Italians on Saturday. In similar circumstances to Sexton, he alternated with Robbie Henshaw, as the Irish backline fine-tuned their patterns. The calf issue, which forced him off against England in the last minute, has been well managed.

Sexton and O’Driscoll are expected to train fully on Thursday but that may not be the case for Peter O’Mahony. The Munster captain, who sustained a hamstring strain against England, did some running this morning without being involved in the team aspect of the training session. He remains the most doubtful of the trio.

“Johnny trained today and he did really well,” said assistant coach John Plumtree this afternoon. “He was sort of in and out with Paddy and Mads [Ian Madigan], so we’ll make that final call on Thursday but he didn’t look in too much discomfort at all.”