LEINSTER COULD BE forced to face Toulon on Friday night with neither Johnny Sexton nor Ross Byrne available to wear the number 10 shirt.

Byrne’s younger brother, Harry, could subsequently make his first European start when Leo Cullen’s men host the French outfit at the RDS in the last 16 of the Champions Cup.

Sexton is following the return-to-play protocols after being removed for a head injury assessment during Saturday’s win against Munster in the Guinness Pro14 final.

Ross Byrne sustained a knock to his knee during the same game, with an injury bulletin issued by Leinster this afternoon explaining that both out-halves will be assessed over the coming days.

Scott Penny has been ruled out of the meeting with Toulon as he remains sidelined by the hand injury he picked up against the Ospreys, but Cian Kelleher is due to train this week after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Vakh Abdaladze will again look to increase his involvement in team training this week as he continues to recover from a long-standing back injury.

There are no new updates on the following players, who are all unavailable for selection this week: Jimmy O’Brien (hamstring), Garry Ringrose (ankle), Will Connors (knee), James Ryan (concussion), Rowan Osborne (hand), Tommy O’Brien (ankle), Adam Byrne (quad), Caelan Doris (concussion), Dan Leavy (knee), Conor O’Brien (knee), Max Deegan (knee).