CONNACHT HAVE CONFIRMED that they will be without the services of Tom McCartney, Denis Buckley and Matt Healy for this weekend’s game against Ulster.

All three players sustained injuries during Connacht’s win against Edinburgh over the weekend at the Sportsground, where Pat Lam’s side will face table-toppers Ulster this Friday evening.

McCarthy picked up a hamstring injury so the hooker is awaiting the results of a scan to determine the exact extent of the injury. Fellow front-rower Buckley will also miss the visit of Ulster as he has a knee injury evaluated by Connacht’s medical staff.

Healy will see a specialist this week to discover for how long he’ll be out of action. The prolific winger was replaced after just three minutes of the win against Edinburgh and Connacht confirmed this afternoon that he fractured his hand.

Ahead of Ireland’s four-match November series, which begins against the All Blacks in Chicago in less than five weeks’ time, the news is a setback for Healy, who made his international debut during the summer tour of South Africa.

Eoin McKeon and Kieran Marmion also picked up injuries against Edinburgh but both players look set to be available for Friday’s first inter-provincial game of the season. Eight days later, Connacht open their European Champions Cup campaign against Toulouse in Galway.

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