Leinster have suffered yet another injury blow as forward Marty Moore is set to miss 12 weeks from the game with a shoulder injury.
The tighthead prop is the latest in a long list of senior players at the club to be out through injury, including fellow forwards Cian Healy and Sean O’Brien, as well as winger Fergus McFadden.
The timing couldn’t have been worse for head coach Matt O’Connor as he prepares the province for this weekend’s Champions Cup opener against Wasps at the RDS.
Moore would have competed with Leinster team-mate Mike Ross for Ireland's starting tighthead spot in November's three-Test Guinness Series.
The five-cap front-rower's absence adds to Ireland boss Joe Schmidt's injury problems, with O'Brien, Healy and McFadden all out of autumn action.
"Marty got a bang on his shoulder," said Leinster forwards coach Cullen.
"He's with a specialist at the moment but it looks like he'll probably be out for around 12 weeks.
"It's tough on Marty. He's been going really, really well for us and worked very, very hard over pre-season to get himself in good shape.
"It's going to be a big loss."
