Rugby:Leinster may be without Brian O'Driscoll for an extended period of time if, as feared, the Ireland captain requires an operation on the shoulder/neck injury that has dogged him in recent months.

O’Driscoll visited specialists during the week, with surgery now an option to get him back playing at 100 per cent. Leinster open the defence of their Heineken Cup title in Montpellier next weekend but coach Joe Schmidt is facing the prospect of doing so without their talisman.

When asked if O’Driscoll would have to go under the knife, Schmidt explained: “That's one of the things we're trying to decipher at the moment and that's the reason he's gone to some more specialists and had some more scans, so that we can either find a solution to the stinger that kind of comes and goes.

“We want to make sure we don't play him in the condition that's going to affect him in the future and we look after him as best we can. Because if we can get him right, he's a fairly handy fella to have."

Munster, meanwhile, have yet to learn the extent of the medial knee ligament injury Keith Earls picked up at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night but the versatile back is will not see any action for at least a month.

Earls will have a scan on the injured knee tomorrow but has already been ruled out of Munster’s Heineken Cup meetings with Northampton and Castres.

“He looks to have suffered ligament damage that will certainly rule him out of Munster's November Heineken Cup games but as yet a timeframe for a return hasn't been established,” a spokesman for the province explained.

And Ulster also have serious injury concerns ahead of the visit of Clermont Auvergne to Ravenhill, with Stephen Ferris (ankle), Tom Court and Johann Muller all picking up knocks during their Pro 12 win over Connacht yesterday evening.