O'Connell ready for Round 3

Twice a winner of Europe's ultimate prize, the 30-year-old has been out of action since March due to a troublesome groin infection.

O'Connell missed the closing stages of Munster's Heineken Cup and Magners League campaigns, as well as Ireland's summer tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Munster have been drawn in one of the toughest groups in Heineken Cup history for the new season as they prepare to face Magners League Champions the Ospreys, Amlin Challenge Cup Finalists RC Toulon and 2008 Heineken Cup semi-finalists London Irish.

The 2006 and 2008 continental champions travel to England to face London Irish in Round 1 on Saturday, October 9, before hosting Toulon at Thomond Park a week later.

O'Connell admits he won't be available for those two encounters but he is confident he'll back in contention for the mouth-watering double header with the Ospreys in the second and third weekends in December.

"I'll be setting my sights around December, and anything else would be a bonus," O'Connell told The Irish Times.

"I went back running 10 days ago, and I've had no problems.

"I need to go about 12 weeks from when I stopped the antibiotics and get back into the heavy stuff, so I'm about eight and a half weeks into that now.

"It's flying along at the moment. It was really slow at the start, but it's getting quicker now and going very well."

If O'Conell remains sidelined until December, O'Connell would also miss the first nine rounds of the Magners League and the autumn internationals against South Africa, Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina.

His first game back could be the December 4 league clash with Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park - a week ahead of the third round of the Heineken Cup against the Ospreys in Limerick.