Joe Schmidt has admitted that he is prepared to gamble on Cian Healy's availability for the Rugby World Cup.

The Leinster prop is continuing his recovery from surgery on a disc in his neck, but has yet to take a full part in training with the rest of the squad and Schmidt has admitted that he could include the player in his tournament squad, even if he does not play in any of the warm-up matches.

"If we thought that he might not be fit for England, but he'd be fit by Canada, then I'm not sure what we'd decide. But that would be part of the decision-making process - again that risk management: Can we afford to name them and then have them not fit or vice versa," he said.

Ireland start their warm-up schedule against Wales this Saturday, before clashes against Scotland, Wales once more and England.

Schmidt's team kick off their World Cup campaign against Canada on September 19th at the Millennium Stadium.