Ireland's head coach, Scott Bemand, has confirmed that Sam Monaghan has suffered an ACL injury ahead of next week's 150th Anniversary Test match against Australia in Belfast.
The Ireland captain and second row sustained the knee injury in June while playing for Gloucester-Hartpury during the Premiership Women's Rugby final. Today, Bemand confirmed that the injury is indeed to her ACL.
When asked about Monaghan's chances of playing in the Six Nations next spring, Bemand remained cautious about the possibility.
"Unfortunately, it is an ACL," confirmed Bemand on the IRFU website. "Will she miss the Six Nations? That will depend on rehabilitation times and how the process goes. Rather than setting a timeline, it's about following a step-by-step process.
"At the moment, it's still on the cards, but we'll have to see how the next few months play out. It's going to take her a wee while to come back from it. I'm pretty gutted for her, really."
Bemand also praised Monaghan's leadership qualities since Nicola Fryday stepped down from the role. While clearly frustrated to lose his captain, he acknowledged that this situation presents an opportunity for someone else to step up for the vacant Ireland captaincy.
ℹ️ Head Coach Scott Bemand has called Eimear Considine up to the Ireland Women's squad as injury cover for Méabh Deely, who has been ruled out of Irish Rugby's 150th Anniversary Test match against Australia in Belfast.#IrishRugby
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 3, 2024
"What she's done over my tenure here, over the past 12 months, assuming the captaincy role and leading both on and off the pitch, she's been excellent.
"Look, injuries happen; that's the nature of our sport. What it does is give somebody else a chance to step into a space, grow, and own it. We've always said going into a World Cup that we're going to need a really, really competitive 45 (players).
"So, while it's not great for us, not great for Sam, this now becomes the next opportunity to develop further depth, so by the time we get to the World Cup, we can have three-deep in every position."
Regarding other injury news and call-ups, Eimear Considine comes in for the injured Méabh Deely. Additionally, Munster's Jane Clohessy returns to her province following the knee injury she suffered during last Saturday's final defeat to Leinster.
"We've got some returning experience with Eimear Considine coming in," added Bemand. "It's been a couple of years since she was last capped, but she's been going well for Munster and has been showing bits in training that we've been able to see."
Women's International: Ireland vs. Australia
Date: Saturday, 14 September 2024
Time: 14:30
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
