Keith Earls could miss up to four rounds of Munster's Heineken Cup Pool 1 campaign after scans on his injured knee revealed he will need between 4-6 weeks to recover.
The 24-year-old Ireland and British & Irish Lions utility back picked up the injury in Munster's 24-19 RaboDirect PRO12 defeat against Leinster at the AVIVA Stadium on Friday night. Initially the fears were that Earls would miss two rounds, but now it seems likely he will miss at least a half of the Pool campaign.
Munster open their 17th Heineken Cup campaign with a home clash against last season's runners-up, Northampton Saints, at what is set to be a 26,000 sell-out Thomond Park. The Irish province twice beat Saints in Limerick in the 2009/10 season, 12-9 in the Pool stages and 33-19 in the quarter-finals.
Round 2 sees Munster travel to France to face Castres Olympique at Stade Ernest Wallon. The Scarlets are the other team in Pool 1 and the Irish province will meet their fellow RaboDirect PRO12 side in the back to back matches in Rounds 3 and 4 in December.
"Keith Earls had a scan today in Limerick that confirmed he has sustained medial ligament damage. He will be out of action for between four and six weeks," explained a Munster press statement.
