Munster have confirmed that Keith Earls will miss the start of the season and will remain sidelined for several weeks. The Ireland winger went for further scans on an ankle injury yesterday and they’ve shown that he suffered a sprain in training last week. There were initial fears that the Lions star could have suffered a fracture after leaving the training camp in Cork on crutches, but they were quickly dismissed by the province. Munster Rugby Statement: “The results of a scan yesterday have shown that Keith Earls suffered just an ankle sprain in that training accident last Monday week in Cork. Earls was in Cork again today along with the rest of the Munster squad for training although confined to a spectator role on the sidelines. He is not expected to resume training again for several weeks. The Munster squad for the opening Magners League clash with Aironi Rugby will be announced tomorrow at noon.”