Four Munster Rugby players ruled out of big URC semi-final showdown with Leinster

The Munster squad have started preparations at the High Performance Centre at UL ahead of Saturday’s big URC semi-final against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium, 5.30pm, live RTE2, Premier Sports.

On the injury front centre Malakai Fekitoa, scrum-half Conor Murray, winger Calvin Nash and second-row RG Snyman were all removed for Head Injury Assessments during Saturday's hard fought 14-5 quarter-final win over Glasgow warriors at Scotstoun and are following the return to play protocols.

It has been confirmed that the four players will all be unavailable for this weekend's big derby clash with Leinster in Dublin.

Captain Peter O’Mahony (elbow) is going for a scan today, Monday, and his availability will be determined later in the week.

Meanwhile, hooker Diarmuid Barron (shoulder) will be reviewed as the week progresses to determine his availability.

Munster report that there were no issues for Tadhg Beirne on his return from an ankle injury as he played the full 80 minutes in Glasgow.

Continuing to rehab: Liam O’Connor (neck), Eoin O’Connor (shoulder), Jack Daly (knee), Paddy Patterson (knee), Keith Earls (groin), Paddy Kelly (head), Andrew Conway (knee), Liam Coombes (thigh).