Munster's defence coach JP Ferreira has praised the attitude of second row RG Snyman, after his latest serious knee injury.

The South African ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament injury for the second time in the space of 14 months on Sunday, just three games into his return from a similar issue last year.

In total, the World Cup winner has played just 54 minutes across four appearances for the province since he joined in the summer of 2020.

But Munster's defence coach Ferreira says the popular lock is not feeling sorry for himself, adding his experiences dealing with the same injury last year will stand to him in his latest recovery.

"RG, gutted for him. Everybody around him really gutted, but he's mentally pretty strong, went through a lot this year already so he knows what to do," Ferreira said.

With a serious and lengthy rehab period to follow, Snyman will more than likely be on a separate schedule to the rest of the squad at the HPC in Limerick.

However, Ferreira says the player has asked to be included as much as possible with the rest of the squad, to remain a close member of the group.

"One thing in that he wants to do is get closer to the group, he doesn't want to be excluded from the group, he wants to be involved in whatever capacity he can, and then rehabbing and getting him ready again," he said.

His fellow second row Jean Kleyn says the squad have been keen not to overwhelm their team-mate with well-wishes in recent days, giving him some extra time and space to deal with the news among his family in Limerick.

"There's a balance with everything," he said.

"Every person needs time to process any kind of loss and for him it was a loss. Everyone gave him and his wife their space for a bit to process it and then I’d say he was probably overwhelmed with support.

"He’s a very popular guy here. I’d say there wasn’t a fella who wasn’t disappointed for him. I’d say everyone will support him in their own way and wherever they can."

Munster are yet to put a timeline on the player's potential return, with the added complication of Snyman's contract being up for renewal at the end of this season, a topic that was discussed on this week's RTÉ Rugby podcast.

Kleyn says he can confidently speak for all of his team-mates when he says he wants the 26-year-old to be back at Thomond Park next season.

"I think everyone would (like him to stay)," Kleyn said.

"Excluding the fact that he hasn't played a whole lot of rugby, he has really contributed to the team in a really big way, from a rugby standpoint, in terms of knowledge.

"And in a cultural standpoint in terms of his contribution to the squad and how we interact with each other."

Meanwhile, Ferreira says Munster won't be out for revenge when they host Connacht this Saturday in the United Rugby Championship.

Connacht were 24-20 winners when the sides last met in the Rainbow Cup in May (above), a result which ultimately ended Munster's hopes of silverware for the season.

Despite Munster's frustrations at that result, Ferreira says they don't need any extra motivation ahead of the first derby match of the season.

"Speaking about Connacht, they will always be ready to fire at Thomond Park, it's an Interpro, they're a good side," he said.

"What happened in the Rainbow Cup last season was last season. It's a new game, we focus on ourselves and since the start of the season it's all about us.

"Thomond Park is a special place to play with a crowd and the boys will be up for it no matter what, so it'll be a great game."

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