FEARS THAT NEW Irish international prop Oli Jager might be out for the season have been dismissed by Munster forwards coach Andi Kyriacou.

He said that the tighthead, who moved back from New Zealand before Christmas and made his international debut off the bench against Wales in February, would be out for weeks rather than months after undergoing minor knee operations last week.

And lock Fineen Wycherley, who also had minor knee surgery last week, is also expected to be back before too long, although an exact timeframe for the two players has not been established.

“Fineen’s going to be a bit earlier than Oli, but it’s not as long as everyone thought initially,” said Kyriacou. “They were minor procedures, so we will just see how they react to their rehab process now.

“We have got a great medical team and S&C team, and the lads will dive into their rehab and try get themselves back as fit as soon as possible.

“I don’t have an exact date for you I’m afraid, but we’re hopeful it’ll be sooner rather than later.”

Munster, who host Cardiff in Thomond Park on Saturday evening as they continue the defence of their URC title on the back of a bonus point win over Ospreys in Swansea, are also hoping that centre Alex Nankivell will be cleared to play in that contest.

The centre is enjoying a great maiden season with Munster after his summer move from the Chiefs and missed the win in Swansea after picking up a head injury in training.

“He’s tracking well with all of that. He’s got another thing to do on Thursday but he’s tracking well. Let’s see how he gets through Thursday and he might be in, he might not be, depending on how that goes. Again, we’ll just listen to our medics as far as that’s concerned,” added Kyriacou.