The IRFU confirmed on Monday morning that Ulster secondrow Dan Tuohy suffered a fractured right forearm after coming off the bench in Saturday's Six Nations win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium.
Tuohy came on after 55 minutes to replace Ireland captain Paul O'Connell in the secondrow, but only lasted nine minutes before being replaced by Tommy O'Donnell.
No date was given by the IRFU for a return to action for 28-year-old Tuohy, who impressed as a late replacement for O’Connell in the opening Six Nations clash against Scotland after the Munster lock was forced out with a chest infection.
Later on in the day Ulster released an injury update to say that Tuohy was expected to be out of rugby for between eight to 10 weeks.
That would also rule him out of the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens at Ravenhill on April 5th, but in line for a possible semi-final date in the same competition.
There are also a number of “bumps and bruises” amongst the Irish squad after the 26-3 victory over the defending champions on Saturday but none are considered to be serious injury concerns.
A number of players will be released back to their provinces for this weekend’s round of Pro12 matches, with the core of the squad gathering for a mini-camp in Clonmel later in the week.