The Leinster centre will undergo a scan tomorrow to asses the extent of the damage but O’Sullivan is confident he will be available for the summer tour.

Ireland play New Zealand in Wellington on June 7 before heading to Melbourne to meet Australia a week later.

“I don’t think Brian will miss out against the All Blacks and Wallabies,” O’Sullivan said this morning.

“We don’t know how bad the injury is but talking to him last night I don’t think it’s too serious, but the only real proof will be in the scan.

“I think he’ll be gone for six to eight weeks, but that’s a guess. This is the third time he’s endured the exact same injury. He got hit when stripping the ball – his stock and trade – and his foot splayed.

“He got it in Rome three years ago and also for Leinster during a Heineken Cup (game).”

O’Driscoll will miss the Six Nations finale against England on Saturday, leaving Ireland short of options in midfield.

Gordon D’Arcy was ruled out for the entire tournament after sustaining a fractured forearm in the opener against Italy and Shane Horgan is favourite to take the number 12 jersey at Twickenham.

“It’s a bit early to say what I’ll do but if you were looking for an experienced midfielder, you’d be looking at Shane Horgan,” said O’Sullivan.

“At the moment we have Gordon and Brian injured and they are our only guys playing regularly in the centre. Andrew Trimble’s played centre for Ulster but also a lot on the wing and Shane’s played for Leinster on the wing.

“We don’t have a load of guys playing regularly in the centre who are hanging around. It’s not as if we have an abundance of options. It’s a bit of a conundrum for sure.”

Ireland name their team to face England at lunchtime on Tuesday.