Ruan Pienaar’s injury concerns ease

Ulster scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar should be available for next weekend's Champions Cup meeting with Exeter after scans revealed no major damage to his knee.

Pienaar injured his knee during the province’s defeat in Bordeaux on Sunday and was wearing a brace when he returned to Belfast on Sunday night.

But the results of initial scans revealed "no damage of major proportions" and director of rugby Les Kiss is hoping the 32-year-old will be available for selection when Exeter come to Belfast on Saturday.

“We had really good news about Ruan earlier today,” said Kiss on Monday. “The scan just showed a couple of things that you would expect with a jar on the knee.

“We’ll just need to see how the next 24 or 48 hours go and then we’ll take a decision but it looks very positive.”