Ireland have been dealt a major blow ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup later this year, with confirmation that Erin King will miss the tournament due to a serious knee injury.
The 21-year-old backrow suffered the injury during Saturday's Guinness Six Nations defeat to England, and is set to undergo surgery today which will end her hopes of playing at the tournament in England.
"I'm heartbroken to have suffered a serious knee injury that means I will miss the rest of the Six Nations along with the Rugby World Cup," King said.
"It feels very unfair right now but I’ve had the best few months with this team and I can’t wait to support in every way I can from the sidelines.
"It will be a long road ahead, but with the support I have from family, friends and team-mates around me, I will learn to accept that everything happens for a reason and if I stick to the process and rehab programme set out by the medical team, I’ll be back better."
The Ireland Sevens international made her debut in the XVs game in September's win against Australia, and has been ever-present in Scott Bemand's matchday squad since.
Her performances at the WXV in Canada in September and October also led to her being named World Rugby's Breakthrough Player of the Year.
King (above) had played every minute of Ireland's first three games in this year's Six Nations, and was their chief lineout option, with 19 receptions, while she also had the highest number of breakdown entries in the championship on both attack and defence.
"For a young player who's still got the world at her feet and has come into our programme, we're gutted for her to miss out on having her available and bouncing around the pitch for us," head coach Scott Bemand said.
"In rugby it can happen, and sometimes it deals you a tough hand. Fair play, her attitude to is: 'right I'm going to come back better'.
"She's already looking at coming back, already looking at the big picture of what she can add to her game. Undoubtedly we'll miss her."
King suffered the cartilage injury just seven minutes into Saturday's defeat and played the full 80 minutes before the issue flared up after the game.
"It's quite an unusual injury to some degree.
"She was like, 'well I wasn't going to stop!'. She's full of bounce, she's full of grit and endeavour. She told me she's never missed a session before, so it's the first time she's had an injury.
"She's got great people around her. People are looking after her, they will recover her, they will rehabilitate her and she's already looking at bits she can add to her game," he added.
The Ireland head coach (above) will name his squad tomorrow for Sunday's meeting with Wales (live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player), with Edel McMahon and Enya Breen set to be available after they missed 49-5 loss against the Red Roses.
And Bemand says McMahon's experience will be crucial in the final two weekends, as Ireland look to finish their championship off with a pair of wins.
"You have to make decisions around whether you can push someone into a game. There's bigger pictures at play. She [McMahon] just didn't quite recover from that game [against Italy] but she's back available this weekend and she's in the melting pot for selection.
"She brings some bang with her tackles, and she brings an added component of leadership back to the group. Any game where you're travelling away to Wales, having an extra bit of leadership in the group is a good an important thing."
The Ireland head coach was also asked about the long-term status of forwards coach Alex Codling.
The Englishman has been working part-time with Munster this season following the departures of Graham Rowntree and Andi Kyriacou, and it's believed Munster are keen to bring him into their coaching team on a full-time basis next season.
"Beyond the summer, that's a conversation for Codders and Munster," Bemand told RTÉ Sport.
"We know he's in to the World Cup with us, he's been doing bits across two pieces. We've found a way to blend it and make it work.
"From our perspective we can see where the lineout was, to where we are tracking with it now, and some of the innovation he's brought to it.
"We've got a great relationship with the provinces. Alex is making it work across both groups and it's a privilege to have his input and his intel for a fast-developing group of forwards in our programme."
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