IRELAND have been handed a major boost ahead of Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series test against Fiji.
Andy Farrell’s side are set to face Mick Byrne’s outfit in their third test match of the November series on Saturday in Dublin.
And in a welcome fitness boost for the men in green, Tadhg Furlong has been passed fit.
The Leinster loose-head prop missed out on the first two tests of the series against New Zealand and Argentina.
The Wexford native was ruled out of the clashes due to an on-going hamstring injury, and is likely to feature after coming through training on Tuesday afternoon.
But it’s not all rosey news for Ireland after second-row Ryan Baird was ruled out of the Aviva Stadium test.
Baird suffered a head injury after coming on as a second half substitute during Irealnd’s 22-19 win against Argentina.
But he won’t feature this weekend after a concussion, and he will now follow HIA protocols before a return date is set.
Meanwhile, boss Andy Farrell has issued a major warning to his Ireland side as he praised the ‘unbelievably dangerous’ Fiji team ahead of the Dublin test clash.
Fiji saw off Spain on Saturday 33-19 just a week after an impressive 24-19 win over Wales in Cardiff.
And the Ireland boss is well aware of the danger his side face against Mick Byrne’s talented side.
Ireland play Fiji on Saturday before a final their final Autumn Nations Series test against Australia next week.
Speaking after Friday night’s win against Argentina, Farrell weighed-in on how he’ll manager his team selection for the test during a physically taxing period.
The boss went on to praise before hailing Byrne’s side, he said: “We’ll see how the bodies fare up but we do need to have a think about how we roll on because Fiji are unbelievably dangerous as we saw last week against Wales.
“At the same time, so are Australia. Four games on the bounce, we’ve got to manage that realistically.
“We need to pick a side that’s going to perform and what you don’t do is give everyone a game that’s been unfortunate not to play so far.
“If you’re trying to work out how lads are going to cope at international level.
“You need to put good people around them to be able to judge them in the right manner, so there’s a balance there.”
Ireland host Fiji on Saturday afternoon at Aviva Stadium with a kick-off time of 3pm.
