Leinster's bonus point victory over Edinburgh last night came at a cost and head coach Leo Cullen is today left to assess the damage done to his squad.
Four first half injuries and a fifth before the full-time whistle means that the strain already put on the squad with the beginning of the Six Nations has been increased.
Dominic Ryan, Rory O'Loughlin, Dave Kearney and Noel Reid all will need treatment, as well as Josh van der Flier who sustained a shoulder injury during the game.
"He took a heavy bang on his shoulder so we'll get him assessed," Cullen told TG4 after the game. "We were running out of players at the end, even Joey Carbery was cramping up at the end, so he had to come off.
"We finished the game with 14 men which is never ideal. It's fairly early days at the moment. The two back-rows were gone in the opening 13 minutes."
With some players still in the running for a place in Ireland's upcoming Six Nations games with France, Wales and England, the injuries will come as a real blow to the national side.
Of the result itself, Cullen said: "I thought we soaked up a lot of pressure and defended really, really well. It was really difficult getting out of that top right hand corner, an incredibly strong breeze. The guys dug in well and were very composed at half-time as well.
"There was a lot of faith in the bench we had as well so I think we finished the second half really well.
"Holding them to three points in the first half was a really good effort. We have a lot of confidence and were able to hold onto the ball. We were dangerous from deep.
"Pleased with the win. It was a short turnaround and the guys worked incredibly hard this week. There's a lot of battered and bruised bodies so we'll make sure we recover ahead of the trip to Dragons."
Josh van der Flier leaves the field with a shoulder injury. He'll be a major doubt for Ireland's clash with France at the end of the month. Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
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