Bowe ruled out for up to six weeks

Ulster’s Tommy Bowe has had his fair share of injury troubles over the last 12 months and it was confirmed last night that the Ireland winger will miss the next four to six weeks of the season with a wrist injury that had been undetected at the end of the British and Irish Lions tour Down Under.

He is now in a race against time to be fully fit for Ireland when they take on Samoa, Australia and world champions New Zealand during the Guinness autumn series in November.

The Ulster winger had originally broken a bone on his right wrist during a warm-up match with the British and Irish Lions against the Queensland Reds on 4 June.