Cian Healy will miss Leinster’s return match against Northampton on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium due to an ankle injury. The Irish loosehead prop is unlikely to make a return until next month.

Healy was on crutches this week and tweeted a picture of himself watching Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body building movie Pumping Iron with his heavily bandaged angle encased in a plastic cast.

Flanker Seán O’Brien suffered a dead leg in the same match but is due to train later this week, while scrumhalf Issac Boss is expected to recover from a tight hamstring.

Competition-low

Matt O’Connor’s side have conceded a competition-low of 23 points in the opening three rounds, while Northampton’s 40-7 defeat was their joint heaviest in the competition, equalling their losing margin of 33 points against Montferrand (now Clermont) in 2001.

Ulster reported no new injuries aside from some discomfort to a recent injury experienced by Jared Payne following his comeback match against Treviso in Ulster’s Pool 5 match in Belfast on Saturday. There is some concern over the Kiwi’s groin problem.

Although the fullback displayed no difficulties with the injury, which had kept him out of the three previous matches in the run up to Ulster’s 48-0 win over the Italians at Ravenhill, he acknowleged on Tuesday he played through the pain barrier. Payne was substituted on the hour mark with captain Johann Muller as Ulster were coasting. Like Payne the South African has just returned from injury.

While the Rugby Football Union (RFU) yesterday said it believes the English game has yet to be affected by corruption through gambling, specifically spot-fixing in matches, Irish players recently signed up to an anti-corruption charter. Following an education programme in October Irish Rugby Union Players Association members have signed an anti-gambling charter which outlines what they can and cannot do. An RFU official attended a summit with ministers on Tuesday to discuss corruption.