Captain Brian O’Driscoll was stretchered off with 16 minutes remaining at Twickenham after teammate Paul O’Connell accidentally kneed him in the head.

Despite the serious-looking nature of the injury, O’Driscoll suffered no lasting effects and returned to the field to celebrate the win that saw Ireland draw level with England on four points.

Commenting on O’Driscoll’s injury after the match, Kidney played down fears his talismanic centre had suffered a concussion.

He said: “Brian took bit of a bang. It was nothing – he was out on the pitch at the end. He's good and is enjoying the win as much as anyone.

“Brian just felt he should make Paul (O’Connell) do the press conference to make up for him giving him a bang on the head with his knee. There's no risk of concussion. He's fine.”

Meanwhile No.8 Jamie Heaslip, who was named RBS 6 Nations man-of-the-match, sprained his ankle but completed the 80 minutes and will be fit for the clash with Wales on March 13 according to a statement released by the IRFU.

On Wednesday, the starting XV from the England victory, minus Leicester full-back Geordan Murphy, will convene for a two-day training camp.