IRELAND captain Paul O’Connell is expected to return to the squad for Saturday’s encounter with Wales at the Aviva Stadium.
The Munster lock missed Ireland’s 28-6 victory over Scotland in their first Six Nations fixture, after he suffered a heavy chest infection and a sleepless Saturday night.
Ireland team manager Mick Kearney said of O’Connell’s recovery: “All the signs are that he will be fit and raring to go. We would be very confident.
“Paul was quite vocal at Monday night’s review meeting and again out on the pitch before they started to train on Tuesday.”
The skipper delivered the pre-training pep talk to the team yesterday, but took an observational role for the remainder of the training session at their Carton House base.
Brian O'Driscoll during Ireland's Six Nations game against ScotlandHis recall will be the only change in the line-up ahead of the Wales fixture, with Dan Tuohy returning to the bench to make way for O’Connell’s return up front to resume his partnership with Devin Toner.
Much of the attention surrounding Ireland’s upcoming game against Wales has focused on the Warren Gatland and Brian O’Driscoll storyline, following the controversial end to the British and Irish Lions tour last summer.
But O’Connell believes that the form of Ireland’s past captain is more of a talking point and he is expecting great performances from him during the tournament.
“Brian has so much experience at this stage, his body seems to be in great shape,” he said.
“The two of us are generally first out to warm up these days because it takes us a bit longer to get going than everyone else!
“Obviously he’s a fantastic player but the confidence he gives to people around him as well, even to the forward pack is massive for the team, and it’s going to be a big loss to the team.
"It’s tough to think what it will be like without him.”
