JOHNNY SEXTON HAS stated that he will be fit for the game against Australia this weekend.
Sexton has overcome a dead leg he picked up during the 19-16 win over South Africa this month.
Ireland have a number of problems at 10, with Joey Carbery and Ciaran Frawley ruled out of the game this weekend.
Ross Byrne has been called up to the squad, with Munster's Jack Crowley the only other outhalf available.
Now that Sexton is fit, he's claimed he's fit for Ireland's game of the Autumn Nations Series.
“Yeah, (the leg is) good. I trained today and am ready to go,” Sexton said to the media today.
Sexton also admitted that his injury didn't heal as quickly as he would have liked, but now he's ready for action.
Johnny Sexton declares himself fit for Australia and calls for Ireland improvement after Fiji struggles https://t.co/UBU1c9dLQH pic.twitter.com/9H76GgKrSS
— Independent Sport (@IndoSport) November 16, 2022
“A little bit, yeah. Last week was a bit of a struggle with swelling and fluid and stuff like that. It was just managing that and then making sure I get the right amount of training in this week to be able to perform but also not do too much that swells it up again. It’s good to go, it feels good and I’m ready.”
Ireland's reliance on Sexton is well known across the rugby world. The 37-year-old missed the win over Fiji, but is now expected to come back into the fold.
The Leinster man will eventually be replaced by a younger man, and had kind words for his fellow out halves in the win last week.
“I think they did well (against FIji),” Sexton said of his fellow Ireland out-halves.
“It’s not up to me to comment too much on my competition.
I can’t big them up too much and I definitely can’t criticise out-halves because you’re looking at the game and it’s very easy to sit there thinking,
‘I would have done this’… but it’s a tough place to go and control things. If the team is not quite functioning around you, it can be hard to make a real good impression. But I think they did well.
Ireland play Australia at 8pm on Saturday.