Ireland and Leinster prop Christy Haney says she could be fit to return for the Celtic challenge in December as she misses the WXV1 campaign through injury.
Haney picked up an injury in the 36-10 win over Australia earlier this month, adding her to the long list of players injured for Scott Beamand's side.
"It was at the bottom of a tackle, it was a bit of an awkward one, somebody landed coming from the opposite direction.
"It’s an MCL [medial collateral ligament] injury. Of all the injuries in the knee, it’s one of the quickest rehabs so I'm looking at four to eight weeks.
"100 per cent, it was bad timing for Canada but should be ready for the Celtic Challenge."
Haney has been a key part of this Ireland side who been able to dramatically change their fortunes on the pitch, and pick themselves up from some very low points.
In 224, Ireland finished third in the Six Nations to qualify for the Women's World Cup next year, and followed that up with an impressive win over Australia in Belfast.
For Haney, the positive mood in the squad is transferring on the pitch, and is seen with recent results.
"It seems to come a bit it more naturally I suppose. You hear people say oh they are a confidence player, but truly, we all are. Once you do something well the first time, you are going to have that bit more flow going into it the second time.
"You definitely see that playing out, whether that is your tackling, your passing, or the confidence of knowing the person to the inside or outside of you are gonna be there with you>
"Scott has a great framework for us. He has broken down the game within the game and the areas we want to target, but he also encourages us to just play rugby."
Rewind to 2023, and it was a different story for this Ireland team. Confidence was low after missing out on qualifying for the previous world cup, and finishing bottom of the Six Nations.
After some heavy defeats, times were difficult for Ireland's players. For Haney, life outside of rugby helped overcome and take her mind off the pitch.
"It is hard. We are high performance athletes, so losing is hard.
"Putting it into perspective was this is where we are, this is what has happened, and what do we want to do next? That mindset of putting the past in the past, and I think that was really important when going from the 2023 Six Nations to Dubai, when we were resetting, and we were determined to grow from there.
"I am very lucky that I have a full time career as well as rugby, I am a structural engineer. That environment was a great place for me.
"I remember the director came around, and he patted me on the back and said, ‘they might have bet you, but nobody is a better structural engineer than you are’.
"It comes back to your support network, the people you have around you and the perspectives that they can bring."
