Robbie Henshaw says he has full faith that Johnny Sexton will be able to hit the ground running at the Rugby World Cup, despite a near six-month layoff.
The Ireland captain won't be available for the three warm-up games against Italy, England and Samoa after picking up a suspension for being "confrontational and aggressive" towards referee Jaco Peyper and his fellow officials in the aftermath of Leinster's Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle in May.
Combined with the groin injury which has kept him sidelined since mid-March, the 38-year-old will return for Ireland's opening Rugby World Cup game against Romania on 9 September with no time to get up to speed.
"I'd back him all day to be honest to step into a game," Henshaw said.
"He’s been training the house down. I know it’s not full contact when we’re training but he hasn’t lost that sharpness, that vision or his kicking.
"He’s been exceptional in training, leading the group so I suppose the only thing for a player coming back from a long-term injury is the contacts, that full contact, so I suppose over the next few weeks he’ll get a taste for that, doing his extra bits, and get used to that. That’s the main thing when you’re coming back, that full-on, 100% contact."
Sexton's suspension was only confirmed last Sunday, close to two months on from the Champions Cup final.
And while the process took a long time, Henshaw says it hasn't been a distraction in camp.
"We knew it was going on in the background. Nobody had an idea of what was going to come of it.
"I think everyone was on the same page. Luckily we had our hands full with training and meetings so it was always going on in the background. Thankfully nobody got too distracted by it.
"It's unfortunate that Johnny won’t be there for the home games in particular. That’s probably the most disappointing thing for him and for us. For him to play in the Aviva is a big thing but I suppose looking at it it’s great that we have him for the World Cup.
"I know he’ll work his backside off in the next few weeks to make sure he’s in top shape come round one."
Henshaw is set to feature in his third World Cup after being involved in 2015 and 2019 under Joe Schmidt.
Last week, his teammate Iain Henderson spoke glowingly of the way Ireland's training camp has gone under Andy Farrell, with players given more of an input into the pre-season block.
And Henshaw says there's been a greater focus on ball skills ahead of RWC 2023.
"It's been good, it's been different. It’s a good group and straight into rugby whereas, in the past, it would have been more traditional 'get your fitness up’ and do different things.
"But from day one we’ve been straight in with the ball in your hand which is good and a clear plan in terms of what we want to achieve and how we want to go about it.
"We’ve just been building every week and mainly enjoying it, enjoying the pain. It’s always good to test yourself. You’ve got these windows to push yourself in the gym and see your gains week-in, week-out, and try to get yourself in the best possible nick.
"Pre-seasons are tough but they’re very enjoyable when you can see the progress that you’re making over a few weeks," he added.
Watch live coverage of Ireland's Rugby World Cup warm-up games v Italy (5 August), England (19 August) and Samoa (26 August) live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
