Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll has been given the all-clear to play in his country's opening RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy on February 2.

O'Driscoll was forced off during Leinster's Heineken Cup clash with Leicester at the weekend with an ankle injury, but trained on Tuesday with the rest of the team.

Paul O'Connell (back) and Jonathan Sexton (broken thumb) will miss out for Eddie O'Sullivan's side.

O'Connell is waiting to discover whether he must undergo surgery, which would rule him out for the rest of the season.

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