Ireland flanker Chris Henry has had exploratory heart surgery and will be out of rugby for the foreseeable future.

Last week Henry was ruled out of Ireland’s November international Tests due to what was called a "temporary blockage of a small blood vessel in his brain".

Today the IRFU said that following on from that diagnosis, Henry had undergone a procedure to repair a defect in his heart wall.

"This was found to be related to his recent episode and has been performed to prevent further issues."

Henry had been named to start against South Africa but was replaced on the morning of the game by Rhys Ruddock, who scored a try in the 29-15 victory.

He was initially believed to be suffering from a virus or migraine but further tests revealed the blood vessel issue, which in turn prompted the latest procedure.

New Ulster manager Bryn Cunningham confirmed on Tuesday that Henry had been operated on.

The 30-year-old has played 16 times for Ireland and was a key contributor to last year's successful Six Nations campaign.