Ulster and Ireland wing Jacob Stockdale will miss the entire Six Nations campaign after undergoing surgery on his ankle.
Stockdale suffered the injury last September and has been out of action for province and country ever since. He last played for Ireland in the Summer Series win against Japan back in July.
"It's been a really frustrating couple of months for me with this ankle as nothing has seemed to go right with it," he wrote on Instagram on Monday night.
"But hey, that’s life...
"Glad to have gotten the op now and hopefully puts me on the right track back to recovery! I’m gutted this probably means the end of my season but gives me an opportunity to come back fitter and stronger than ever."
Ireland begin their Six Nations tournament against Wales in Dublin on 5 February, and finish with another home game against Scotland on 19 March.
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