Centre Keith Earls is expected to make a swift recovery after taking a blow to the head in Ireland's 16-10 defeat to Wales on Saturday.

Earls was taken off the picth on a stretcher in a neck brace during the second half at the Aviva Stadium, prompting concerns about his availability for the Rugby World Cup, which gets under way next month.

However, Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt moved to alleviate those fears at his post-match media conference, where he also offered updates on injuries to Luke Fitzgerald and Richardt Strauss.

"Keith Earls took a knock to the head," he said. "He just got caught with his head on the wrong side of the tackle.

"He's fine, he was totally lucid in the changing room and he remembered his involvements in the game. The neck brace was precautionary, he'll follow the concussion protocols.

"He's disappointed that he didn't see the end of the game but he's pretty resilient so he's bounced back pretty well.

"Luke has a glute injury, he got a dint in the upper part of his glute I think. Again, just talking to him, he's uncomfortable but that will be bruising and it will be very uncomfortable when it's close to the bone.

"He may be two or three days, or he might be five or six days, recovering from that.

"Both players will be monitored over the next 24 hours. If it's deemed necessary, they'll be scanned and we'll make sure that they're going to be okay in the next week, or short-term anyway.

"I think Richardt rolled his ankle. He said it's feeling okay, so we're hopeful that he'll be okay as well. Again, we'll see how he pulls up over the next day or two."

Schmidt has until Monday to name his 31-man squad for the World Cup.