Writing in The Irish Independent, Hugh Farrelly expresses concern at the continuing injury woes for Ireland's Keith Earls.
"Earls cannot compete with the leviathans of the game. By normal standards, the Moyross man, at 5ft 11ins and 14 stone, is not small but, in rugby terms, he is slight and it makes him vulnerable, particularly as he is not a player to shirk from any physical challenge.
"With the load going through my body, the (groin) injury was bound to come," said Earls last month. "The physios are telling me that my body is not fully developed yet, my pelvis and core are still developing and my body is not quite strong enough yet for the workload I have been going through."
"There are plenty of examples of prodigiously talented players whose careers were bedevilled by injury. Ireland flanker Eric Miller won 48 caps between 1997 and 2005 and would have won many more -- including Test starts for the Lions -- but for consistent injury problems. Jonny Wilkinson was unavailable to play for England for 1,169 days after steering them to the World Cup in 2003 as he reeled from a succession of blows to his knee, arm, shoulder and kidney.
"It should be the fervent hope of everyone with a vested interest in Irish rugby that Earls' career does not continue to be characterised by time on the treatment table and that this gifted young player is afforded a sustained run of fitness. It starts with a scan on Monday."
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