IRELAND declared yesterday that their 31-man squad has a clean bill of health, ahead of their opening Rugby World Cup match against Canada this Saturday.

Scrum-half Conor Murray has recovered from a concussion suffered against England last week, while full-back Rob Kearney is healthy again after missing the defeat at Twickenham with a knee injury.

Cian Healy, who has over 50 international caps, has not played since neck surgery in May to repair a disc but has now reached full fitness, delighting team manager Michael Kearney.

“Cian is great,” said Kearney. “Obviously he had a few dark days over the course of the summer but towards the end of August, he made fantastic progress and has been in full training for the last two weeks.

“He’s worked incredibly hard over the last few months. I suppose there was a degree of pessimism about him for a while but certainly towards the end of August, that had all turned good and he’s been really flying and in great form since then.”

Hooker Rory Best delighted in having a “world-class” player like Healy back, as the pair had formed a strong partnership in the front row previously, while paying tribute to Jack McGrath, who deputised admirably recently.

“Anyone who has followed him will know that he has a tendency to come back quickly.

“To have that capability within your squad is great. With Ireland, we’re very lucky to have Jack and Cian who are both fantastic looseheads, and you saw Jack really coming to the fore in the last Six Nations.

“That’s put pressure on Cian and you can see the way he’s responded, and the way he’s come back this summer, he’s hungrier than ever to come back in and to try to get that starting spot back.”

Ireland are favourites to win Pool D after rising to a best-ever world ranking of third, beating every side in the world apart from New Zealand under the tenure of current coach Joe Schmidt.