LEINSTER WILL BE without Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and James Tracy for the opening weeks of the new United Rugby Championship season, which kicks-off this weekend.

The province open their campaign with an away trip to play Zebre Parma on Saturday, before hosting Benetton at the RDS on 23 September.

Leo Cullen’s squad then head into a testing run of fixtures before the November international window – taking on Ulster, the Sharks, Connacht, Munster and Scarlets.

And Cullen will have to plan without some key men for the opening rounds following confirmation today that Keenan and Lowe are both sidelined with injuries.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will hope to see both players recover and get back up to speed in time for Ireland’s opening November Test against the Springboks on 5 November.

Keenan suffered knee and abdominal issues during pre-season, while Lowe picked up a calf injury. Leinster have confirmed both players will be out “for a number of weeks.”

Hooker Tracy will be out for up to four months, following neck surgery over the summer.

Liam Turner is also expected to be unavailable for a number of weeks due to a toe injury.

In better news for the province, Joe McCarthy (ankle) and Jordan Larmour (knee) are due to train fully with the rest of the squad next week as they recover from procedures over the summer.

Rónan Kelleher (shoulder), Dave Kearney (hamstring), Will Connors (knee) and Ross Byrne (foot) all are all fit and available for the trip to Italy this weekend.

There was no update available on Tommy O’Brien (knee) or Charlie Ryan (knee), who both remain on the long-term injured list.

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