Brian O'Driscoll will miss the remainder of Leinster's pool matches in the Heineken Cup and must be considered doubtful for the start of Ireland's Six Nations campaign in Paris on St Valentine's Day, February 14th. Gerry Thornley reports.

O'Driscoll sustained a hamstring injury while playing for Leinster Lions against Sale Sharks in the Pool Three match at Lansdowne Road last Friday night. Following a scan, the prognosis is that the injury will require a four- to six-week recovery period.

Most pressingly, this latest injury blow to Leinster's diminishing resources may leave Gary Ella with little option but to convert Shane Horgan into an outside centre alongside David Quinlan, all the more so as Christian Warner is unlikely to be fit for their return tie away to Sale next Sunday. Leinster then entertain Cardiff before finishing with a trip to Biarritz.

Naturally, Eddie O'Sullivan is not yet ruling his talismanic centre out of the opening Six Nations match but not only might this latest blow complete a damaging triple whammy of injuries to Ireland's main attacking weapons (Denis Hickie and Geordan Murphy being the others) it would also give the Ireland coach a selectorial poser regarding the captaincy.

With Keith Wood retired, it had been expected O'Sullivan would revert to O'Driscoll as captain, though now the coach may be compelled to start thinking of contingency plans for the captaincy.

Most of all though, he'll be desperately hoping Ireland will not go to the Stade de France without O'Driscoll, Hickie and Murphy, who has tentatively pencilled in Leicester's February 21st fixture against London Irish for his comeback.

Frankly, not having any of those three doesn't bear thinking about.