Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton has confirmed that he will not be fit for Leinster’s end of season run-in following the injury he sustained in the Six Nations.
The 37-year-old limped off with a groin injury in their Grand Slam decider as Andy Farrell’s men defeated England 29-16 to secure the title.
It was revealed that he required surgery on the issue, with his province, Leinster, stating that the playmaker was “likely” to miss the remainder of the season.
Sexton has now, in an interview with the Sunday Times, revealed that he has played his final game for the Dubliners.
World Cup the target
“It’s a bit upsetting to miss out with Leinster,” he said.
“People say, ‘you’ve still got the World Cup’ and that’s true, please God.
“What I wanted to get across was that in a sense, playing for Leinster meant as much as playing for Ireland, or almost as much.”
Sexton’s injury occurred seven minutes from the end of the England game, with the fly-half receiving a rapturous reception from the supporters as he limped off.
The fans knew that this was likely the last time they would see him play a competitive international in an Ireland shirt, but the fly-half did not notice.
The Leinsterman revealed his regret for not acknowledging those who were applauding him, with his focus purely on how severe the groin issues was.
Missing out on a ‘special moment’
“I feel bad because I didn’t really acknowledge the reception I got. I watched it back on TV. It’s mad how you can be so distracted,” he said.
“I didn’t realise the enormity of it because I was so obsessed with asking the doc about how long I’d be out post-op.
“Ciaran (Cosgrave) was just looking at me gobsmacked, as if to say, ‘we can sort that out tomorrow, Johnny’. I just wanted to know if I’d get any of the season with Leinster. I kind of let a very special moment pass over me.”
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The article Johnny Sexton: Fly-half confirms no fairytale Leinster farewell as he looks towards Rugby World Cup appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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