Munster have suffered an injury blow with confirmation that their World Cup-winning South African lock RG Snyman is to undergo surgery.
The province said Snyman, 28, injured his “chest/shoulder” during the Springboks’ World Cup final win over New Zealand on 28 October.
In a squad update issued on Monday, Munster did not provide a timeline for Snyman’s return.
He made six appearances during the Boks’ successful World Cup defence.
Used off the bench, Snyman scored South Africa’s only try in their semi-final victory over England and helped his country hold off New Zealand in the final as they extended their reign as world champions.
Snyman has been plagued by injuries since joining Munster in 2020, spending two significant periods on the sidelines because of separate anterior cruciate ligament injuries before helping the province win the United Rugby Championship title in May.
Munster may also be without Calvin Nash for Friday’s trip to Belfast to face Ulster in the URC.
The 26-year-old wing, who made his Ireland debut earlier this year, was withdrawn with a knee injury after scoring two tries in Munster’s 45-14 win over Dragons in Cork on Saturday.
With Craig Casey and Jack Crowley having featured in Saturday’s win, the rest of Munster’s Ireland contingent – Tadhg Beirne, Dave Kilcoyne, Jeremy Loughman, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony – are in contention to face Ulster after returning to training.
Simon Zebo and Josh Wycherley are also available for selection after recovering from foot and neck problems.
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree is currently without Patrick Campbell (ankle), Roman Salanoa (knee), Mike Haley (hip), Cian Hurley (ankle/achilles), Niall Scannell (groin), and Andrew Conway (knee).
