Ireland and Leinster flanker Rhys Ruddock will see a surgeon later this week following the hamstring injury he suffered against Exeter at Sandy Park last Sunday.

In his place the province have registered new winger James Lowe in the squad for this Saturday’s return fixture against the English side at the Aviva Stadium (kick off: 5.15pm).

There was no prognosis on Tuesday from Leinster management about how long Ruddock could be sidelined for until further medical examination.

Lowe had orginally been left out of the registered squad for the competition despite a man of the match performance on his debut two weeks ago.

With Australian lock Scott Fardy and New Zealand scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park both falling under the category of non-EU players, there was no room for Lowe in the squad for last weekend’s win.

While Lowe has now been registered to play European rugby, it is still not certain if he will be in the matchday 23 as either Fardy or Gibson-Park would have to be dropped from the squad.

In other news, it was reiterated that Leinster outhalf Johnny Sexton, who left the pitch before the end of the Champions Cup win with a quad injury, will be available for selection in Saturday’s return leg.

Adam Byrne, who earned his first Irish cap on the wing and in the centre during the November Series, has been suffering knee pain since he came back from Irish duty and has not been able to train fully with the province. Leinster are hopeful that Byrne will return to training this week.

There was good news for Irish centre Robbie Henshaw and forward James Ryan, who both came through last weekend without incident. Both players were recent returns from injury.

Joey Carberry (arm fracture), Barry Daly (ankle), Jamie Heaslip (lower back) and Tom Daly (Knee) remain on the longer term injury list and are unavailable for selection.

Lock Ross Molony will return to on-field training this week. The 23-year-old has recovered from a knee injury and will be assessed during training as the week progresses.