Ireland vs France: Jared Payne to miss rest of Rugby World Cup with broken foot

The centre was sent for a scan on Wednesday after complaining about discomfort during training and was found to have suffered a broken foot

Jared Payne will take no further part in the competition after suffering a fractured foot (gettyimages)

Jared Payne will miss the rest of the Rugby World Cup after a scan revealed that he has broken his foot.

Ireland were adamant that the bullish centre would start against France in Sunday's Pool D decider, but after he felt some discomfort during training on Wednesday he was sent for a scan which showed that the foot is fractured.

The injury rules him out of the rest of the competition and he will now return to Ireland to see a specialist.

The New Zealand-born back started Ireland's first two World Cup games and scored on his tournament debut against Canada, but was ruled out of the 16-9 win over Italy with the injury, which medics initially thought was just bruising.

A statement released by the Irish camp on Saturday read: "Following training on Wednesday, due to continued discomfort, Jared had further scans which revealed a foot fracture. He will be returning to Ireland for a specialist opinion and will take no further part in the tournament."

A decision on Payne's replacement will not be made until after Sunday's match, but Andrew Trimble and Noel Reid are both understood to be in contention for a call up.

Keith Earls will replace Payne at outside centre against France while Robbie Henshaw is set to start alongside the Munster flyer in midfield. Luke Fitzgerald has been named on the bench as cover.

If Ireland overcome Les Blues at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday then they will take on Argentina in the quarter finals, if they lose then they will have to lock horns with World Champions New Zealand.