(Reuters) - Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt is confident that Joey Carbery will regain full fitness ahead of his team's World Cup opener against Scotland next month in Yokohama.
Flyhalf Carbery is recuperating from a minor operation on the ankle he injured in Ireland's opening World Cup warmup win over Italy, with an estimated recovery timeframe of four to six weeks.
"Yeah, he's progressing well," Schmidt told reporters on Tuesday. "He was doing a bit on the pitch today and I think in terms of following his rehab, that four-to-six-week window is bang on."
Munster number 10 Carbery has made significant progress with his recovery, having visited the province's high performance centre in the University of Limerick last week.
Schmidt suggested Carbery could even be in line to feature in Ireland's final warmup match against Wales in Dublin on Sept. 7, much ahead of the World Cup opener on Sept. 22.
"We just don't know where he's going to fall in that four-to-six window. If everything goes perfectly, he may get into that Welsh game back here in the Aviva," Schmidt added.
"If it hasn't gone perfectly then, at worst, I think he will be fully available for the Scotland game."
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)