Luke Fitzgerald has been named in Ireland's starting XV for their opening Rugby World Cup match against Canada after Robbie Henshaw was ruled out through injury.

Connacht centre Henshaw has tweaked a hamstring and will be unavailable for Saturday's fixture at the Millennium Stadium.

Fitzgerald therefore comes in to Joe Schmidt's line-up as one of four changes to the team beaten by England in Ireland's final warm-up fixture.

Rob Kearney, fit again following a knee injury, Keith Earls and the in-form Iain Henderson have also been recalled, with Simon Zebo dropping to the bench and Tommy Bowe and Devin Toner missing out on places in the 23.

Ireland have Cian Healy on the bench following his recovery from neck surgery, while Conor Murray has recovered from the concussion he suffered against England to partner Jonathan Sexton in the halves.

Captain Paul O'Connell said: "Preparation has gone really well for the team and myself. It's nice to get here in good shape."

After facing Canada first up, Ireland will take on Romania, Italy and France in Pool D.

Ireland team: Rob Kearney, Dave Kearney, Jared Payne, Luke Fitzgerald, Keith Earls, Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack McGrath, Rory Best, Mike Ross, Iain Henderson, Paul O'Connell, Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Nathan White, Donnacha Ryan, Chris Henry, Eoin Reddan, Ian Madigan, Simon Zebo.