Ireland and Ulster winger Tommy Bowe looks set to be sidelined for up to eight weeks after damaging his sternum in Saturday’s Pro14 defeat to Leinster.
Bowe was involved in Ulster’s only try of the disappointing 38-7 defeat to their provincial rivals, however, the Monaghan man picked up an injury in the build-up to Jacob Stockdale’s consolation try six minutes from time.
Ulster's director of rugby Les Kiss confirmed the expected absence, adding that further tests were required on the former Lion.
"It looks like it's around the sternum but we're doing more tests," said Kiss, speaking to the BBC.
"The doc said weeks so that could be anything getting up to eight. That's a shame for him."
The injury could possibly call time on Bowe’s Ireland international career as the current set-back would most likely rule the 33-year-old out of Ireland’s upcoming Six Nations campaign.
Listen to live and exclusive radio commentary of Ulster v La Rochelle (Saturday 1pm) and Racing v Munster (Sunday 3.15pm) on RTÉ Radio 1.
