Munster's highly promising full-back, Felix Jones, will almost certainly miss the opening stages of this season's Heineken Cup.
Jones, whose impressive rise to international prominence has been offset by an unfortunate series of injuries, damaged ankle ligaments in Ireland's recent World Cup warm-up defeat by France and is now unlikely to be available for Munster before Christmas.
The 24-year-old appeared set to be included in the Irish squad for the World Cup in New Zealand before this latest setback, but will in all probability be on the sidelines when Munster kick off their Heineken Cup campaign with a home game in Pool 1 against last season's beaten finalists, Northampton Saints, on Saturday, 12 November.