Ireland's Andrew Trimble will miss the rest of this year's Six Nations after suffering a broken bone in his hand.
Trimble suffered the injury in Ulster's 19-7 Pro12 victory over Treviso on Friday evening and scans have now shown that he broke a bone.
The news comes as a fresh blow for the Ulster winger, who only returned to the Irish team in last week's victory over France, having just recovered from a groin injury.
Connacht's Ultan Dillane will also miss Ireland's games with Wales and England as he had to undergo surgery to resolve a shoulder problem.
The IRFU's confirmed both players' withdrawal from the Ireland squad in a statement which read: "Andrew Trimble sustained a hand injury against Treviso at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday night and has been ruled out of the final two rounds of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.
"Ultan Dillane will undergo surgery this week for an ongoing shoulder issue. He will be ruled out of action for 8 - 10 weeks."
There is better news elsewhere for Joe Schmidt as Rob Kearney continues to recover from a groin injury and is expected to take part in full training with the Ireland squad on Monday.
Meanwhile Ulster's Tommy Bowe has been drafted into the squad.
