Michael Milne and Lee Barron have both joined Munster earlier than expected, to help the province with their BKT United Rugby Championship run-in.
Loosehead prop Milne and hooker Barron had already agreed switches from Leinster to Munster for this summer, but will now join on loan until the end of the season ahead of completing their permanent moves.
It comes after Munster picked up a couple of front-row injuries in the last 10 days, with Jeremy Loughman suffering a hamstring injury in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 win against La Rochelle, while Diarmuid Barron was also injured in the quarter-final defeat to Bordeaux-Begles.
Milne, 26, has played 48 times for Leinster since making his debut in 2019, with the powerful Offaly man scoring 12 tries.
Three of Milne's appearances for Leinster have come in the Champions Cup, while he has also represented Emerging Ireland, and was twice called into the extended Irish senior squad.
Barron has made 23 appearances for Leinster, seven of which have come this season.
Both players featured for Leinster in their memorable win away to the Sharks in Durban last month.
The pair linked up with Munster this week, and are available for selection for Saturday's URC meeting with the Bulls at Thomond Park, however neither will be eligible to play if Munster meet Leinster in the play-offs later this season.
Milne (below) looks set to see instant gametime, with Munster's interim coach Ian Costello hinting that Loughman's hamstring injury could see him miss the rest of the season.
Diarmuid Barron has been ruled out of this week's game with a shoulder issue, while John Hodnett, Calvin Nash and Gavin Coombes are also likely to miss this week with injuries picked up in Saturday's defeat to Bordeaux, although Costello is confident none of those players will miss significant time.
"We don't think any of them are long-term which is the good news," Costello told RTÉ Sport.
"Just out of a medical meeting now, but probably unlikely that the four of them will make it for this week.
"We could maybe squeeze one or two through if we had to but we've got some really good opportunities to freshen up with guys that have been just outside of it lately, that are champing at the bit.
"We’ll still have a really strong squad for the weekend, and some of those guys will come back in the following Friday against Cardiff."
Costello also gave an update on the long-term injuries of Edwin Edogbo and Roman Salanoa.
Edogbo has been sidelined since suffering an Achillisd tear against Leinster in December 2023, while tighthead prop Salanoa hasn't played for close to two years due to a major knee injury.
And while Edogbo is getting close to a return, it appears unlikely that Salanoa will play before the start of next season.
"They're both progressing positively but it is slow.
"I’d like to think that Edwin in particular, we see play this season. That’ll probably depend on how deep we go into the season, so hopefully we’re continuing into the knockout stages and it would be great to have both back, but more likely to have Edwin back rather than Roman back [this season]."
Watch a URC double-header, Stormers v Connacht and Munster v Bulls, on Saturday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
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