Although neither player will be available for Leinster’s Champions Cup pool stage encounter with Racing 92 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Leinster attack coach Andrew Goodman revealed they weren’t left completely idle at the province’s base in UCD on Monday.

“Johnny was out on the field charging around today. Obviously non-contact at this stage, but it’s one of those injuries where he’s been able to do all of his running, his skill work. He’s been involved in everything apart from the contact aspect of the game,” Goodman remarked from a media briefing at Leinster HQ.

“He’ll build that over the next couple of weeks and I’m sure he’ll be great to go. Tadhg was back in doing some unit work today, so again he’ll build into team stuff. So a couple of weeks of that, I’m sure they’ll be ready to get into Wales first up.”

There will be one final opportunity for Sexton and Furlong to get some game time under their belts before that Six Nations opener against the Welsh on February 4 – a United Rugby Championship bout at home to Cardiff seven days earlier.

It remains to be seen if either of them will be ready for action at that point, but one man has certainly done his chances of international recognition no harm in the absence of Sexton. After being thrown into the match day 23 at the 11th hour, Ross Byrne was on hand to kick a winning penalty for Ireland in the closing stages of their Autumn Nations Series duel with Australia on November 19 of last year.

Always a reliable performer in the blue of Leinster, that 13-10 triumph over the Wallabies was Byrne’s first test appearance in just under 20 months. It took the withdrawal of Munster fly-half Carbery at the beginning of the week for him to be called into the Ireland camp and even then it wasn’t until Sexton injured his calf in the warm-up that a 14th Ireland senior cap became a reality for Byrne.

His late cameo (as a 72nd minute replacement for Cork’s Jack Crowley) in the Australia game has certainly bolstered his prospects ahead of this year’s World Cup, however, and he is set to start his fourth consecutive European game this weekend. Having worked closely with him since joining the Leinster coaching staff last summer, Goodman is in no doubt that Byrne is capable of representing Ireland in the Six Nations and beyond.

“I’d have him in there, 100 per cent. Ireland and Leinster play a similar game and I think he is as similar as you’ve got to Johnny. In terms of how he can go in there and he can run a game of rugby. I’d definitely have him in there. Hopefully come the middle of the week, his name is there. I’d be stoked for him,” Goodman added.

“He’s demanding. He holds everyone accountable, but the main thing is knowing his own job week in, week out. His goal kicking has been outstanding, but I think the thing to my mind is he knows his game management and ability to be one or two phases ahead of the game. Like a little chess master really.”