Leinster and Ireland wing Dave Kearney has been ruled out for four to five months by coach Matt O'Connor.
Kearney suffered an interior cuciate ligament tear in the PRO12 play-off semi-final win over Ulster at the RDS on Saturday.
He will undergo surgery “in the next week or so”, according to the province.
Otherwise the news is good for Leinster fans, as Brian O’Driscoll and Fergus McFadden, both of whom came off in the second half against Ulster, are due back in training in Thursday.
Mike McCarthy is making good progress on his recovery from a calf injury and has already trained this week, while Eoin Reddan emerged unscathed from his 100th cap against Ulster after making his return from a shoulder injury.
His fellow scrumhalf Isaac Boss is "has been working on his own recovery from a slight calf injury that kept him out of Saturday's play-off."
Girvan Dempsey has reported no injuries to his Leinster ‘A’ squad ahead of Friday’s B&I Cup Final against Leeds in Donnybrook (7pm).
