Johnny Sexton sidelined by hamstring injury

Johnny Sexton will miss Leinster's PRO14 game against Benetton on Saturday due to 'a minor hamstring injury'.

Sexton was withdrawn after 23 minutes of the province's season opener against the Dragons on Friday night  with the problem.

The game comes just two weeks before Ireland resume their Six Nations campaign against Italy at the Aviva Stadium on October 24th.

Leinster coach Leo Cullen also confirmed that Max Deegan suffered a knee injury having come on as a substitute in the second half of the win and the Irish international will undergo further scans this week to assess the severity of the problem.  Ciarán Frawley must undergo the graduated return to play protocols this week after receiving a facial injury last week.

Andrew Porter and Dave Kearney (both hamstring) will continue to be assessed this week before a decision is made on their availability for the weekend.

There was no new update on a number of players including Dan Leavy (knee) and they remain unavailable for selection:

Tadhg Furlong (calf), Dan Sheehan (cheekbone), Vakh Abdaladze (back), Conor O’Brien (hamstring) and Adam Byrne (hamstring)