Munster have suffered a triple injury blow following their victory over the Ospreys at Thomond Park at the weekend.
The double European champions are likely to be without Denis Fogarty, Felix Jones and Ian Dowling for the opening rounds of the Heineken Cup after they all picked up injuries in Saturday's 22-10 win.
Utility back Jones missed the majority of last season with a career-threatening neck injury and now the 23-year-old finds himself sidelined with cruciate ligament damage.
Fogarty will be missing until after Christmas after picking up a shoulder injury that required immediate surgery. Fogarty's absence adds to head coach Tony McGahan's woes in the front-row, with Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery yet to make an appearance this season.
Dowling was forced from the field after four minutes with a hip injury and the winger must now wait for further results before the full extent of the lay-off is known.
Saturday's match was a dress rehearsal for the main event as Munster and the Ospreys will face each other in Europe's premier competition in back-to-back matches in December.
Munster's Pool 3 adventure begins away to London Irish on Saturday, October 9 before they welcome last season's Amlin Challenge Cup finalists RC Toulon to Limerick the following week.
