Ireland trim Six Nations squad ahead of opener in Italy

Ireland have reduced their squad to 38 for the first two games of the Six Nations because of injury worries and several young stars returning to their provinces.

Joe Schmidt's side open the defence of their Six Nations title against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, before hosting the French at the Aviva Stadium the following weekend.

Head coach Schmidt was impressed with the efforts of some of his young players who played for the Wolfhounds on Friday night and said: "Jack Conan and Michael Bent did well against the Saxons but will return to Leinster.

"So will Noel Reid who was restricted to a brief cameo as he was covering a number of positions. Rob Herring returns to Ulster and will look forward to having an opportunity for further game-time.

"Fergus McFadden has a rib cartilage injury, while Craig Gilroy will follow the return to play protocols after a concussion in the Wolfhounds game."

Dave Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald are expected to be fully fit to train in preparation for Italy, while Eoin Reddan and Jamie Heaslip are progressing well and are likely to be available to train fully on Tuesday.

Mike McCarthy suffered a concussion during the Wolfhounds game and will remain with the squad while completing the return to play protocols. Cian Healy continues to impress following his hamstring injury.

Conor Murray trained well on Friday and is expected to be fit for the Azzurri clash.

Ireland squad for the first two rounds of the Six Nations

Forwards: R Best (Ulster), J Cronin (Munster), S Cronin (Leinster), R Diack (Ulster), C Healy, J Heaslip (both Leinster), I Henderson (Ulster), M McCarthy, J McGrath, M Moore, J Murphy, S O'Brien (all Leinster), P O'Connell (capt), T O'Donnell, P O'Mahony (all Munster), M Ross, D Ryan, R Strauss, D Toner (all Leinster), N White (Connacht).

Backs: I Boss (Leinster), T Bowe, D Cave (both Ulster), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster), L Fitzgerald (Leinster), R Henshaw (Connacht), F Jones (Munster), D Kearney, R Kearney (both Leinster), I Keatley (Munster), I Madigan (Leinster), K Marmion (Connacht), C Murray (Munster), J Payne (Ulster), E Reddan (Leinster), J Sexton (Racing Metro), S Zebo (Munster).