Joe Schmidt expects Jonathan Sexton to return to action soon

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt reckons playmaker Johnny Sexton will return to action before the World Cup after his injury setback.

The 34-year-old last played for Ireland during the Six Nations tournament earlier this year but has been out of action since then with "stiffness and soreness" restricting his participation.

Nevertheless, Schmidt expects his star fly-half to be part of the home game against Wales at Aviva Stadium on 7th October.

"He doesn't have a leg injury per se," said Schmidt.

"If we wanted to pick him this weekend we could pick him. If you'd seen him out there [at training], how hard he was running today, down and ups and running...it's a progression for him," he added.

"He did have a discomfort but when you train, you get a delayed onset muscle soreness, the DOMS, you get a little bit of a feeling of discomfort and we just didn't want to push through this.

"He got a bit behind with his thumb injury and was then chasing his tail. We would anticipate that Johnny would play, if not this weekend, then next weekend."

Meanwhile, Schmidt also revealed that scrum-half Conor Murray has successfully passed the Head Injury Assessment and is in line for a return while winger Keith Earls is considered a doubt with tendonitis.