Ulster winger Andrew Trimble will miss out on Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Italy after breaking a bone in his right hand.
Trimble sustained the injury during Ulster’s comprehensive defeat of Aironi at the weekend and following an x-ray on Monday, it was determined that he had broke a metacarpal bone in his hand.
Trimble is definitely out of the Italy clash on 5 February and will see a specialist this week to determine how long he will be kept out of action.
Elsewhere, Stephen Ferris and Tommy Bowe underwent scans on their respective knee injuries and an update on their progress is expected later today.
Trimble’s injury is a further blow to Declan Kidney ahead of the Italy game as the Ireland coach is already without Rob Kearney, Geordan Murphy and Jerry Flannery for the clash in the Stadio Flaminio on Saturday week.
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