Rob Henderson admits it will be a miracle if he takes the field at Lansdowne Road tomorrow for the inaugural Celtic League final.
Munster's squad is so injury-ravaged that Lions star Henderson has been named by coach Declan Kidney as a possible starter against Leinster.
Yet the centre is still suffering from a medial knee ligament injury sustained in training before last week's semi-final against Ulster from which he had not expected to recover from until the new year.
Henderson, 29, said: "The likelihood of me playing is slim. If I am fit by the weekend it will be a miracle.
"I had the scans looked at again and they revealed the injury was more of a strain than a tear so it's not as bad as we first feared. I had thought I was looking at another six weeks on the sidelines."
PA