MUNSTER HAVE CONFIRMED that Ireland internationals Tadhg Beirne, Gavin Coombes, Dave Kilcoyne, and Andrew Conway remained sidelined through injury and won’t make their returns in Friday night’s huge clash with Ulster.

Johann van Graan’s men face into a pivotal United Rugby Championship battle in Belfast as the play-off race heats up.

A win for fourth-placed Munster could send them above Ulster into the top two in the table, but a defeat would bring pressure from behind in the battle for home quarter-finals.

Beirne [thigh], Coombes [ankle], Conway [knee], and Kilcoyne [neck] are still rehabbing their injuries, but Munster have happily reported that they didn’t sustain any new injury issues in last weekend’s impressive Champions Cup win over Exeter at Thomond Park.

The province have confirmed, however, that back row Jack O’Sullivan will be sidelined “for the coming weeks” due to the knee injury he suffered in the first leg of that European match-up away to Exeter.

Second row RG Snyman and prop James French both remain on the long-term injury list as they recover from knee issues.