British & Irish Lions fly-half Jonathan Sexton is primed and ready to return to action, according to Ireland coach Joe Schmidt.
The 29-year-old has been stuck on the sidelines for 12 weeks after suffering from concussion, meaning he missed Ireland’s 26-3 victory over Italy in Rome last weekend.
But the Lions star – who played in all three Tests against Australia in the victorious 2013 tour – has been named in Ireland’s starting XV to face France on Saturday.
Joining him back on the field will be fellow Lions Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip, but Schmidt is keen to see how Sexton gets on.
"Johnny's very fit, he's done a lot of training with us, he's spent the last 12 weeks training; he just hasn't done any contact," said Schmidt.
"He's done plenty of contact this week and he's primed and ready to go.
"I think he's feeling very fresh. Sometimes the reverse can happen when you do a lot of contact and you feel very beaten up."
