Northampton's Nick Beal will definitely miss Saturday week's European Cup final against Munster at Twickenham after he broke his leg in the English Premiership One game against Saracens last night.

Matt Dawson is also likely to miss the game through injury as he was forced to leave the field with a dislocated shoulder shortly before half time.

Beal broke his leg when attempting to tackle Saracens' Kris Chesney as his momentum took him crashing into the advertising hoardings - and after a 10-minute delay he was carried off on a stretcher.

While Saracens were taking another step towards European qualification via a tense and hard-fought 29-24 win, Beal saw his hopes of European Cup glory disappear as he went off with an injury that will rule him out of the match against Munster.

Meanwhile, the final looks set to be played in front of a tournament record crowd. The 1999 final at Lansdowne Road between Ulster and Colomiers attracted a capacity and tournament high of 49,000. It is possible that Twickenham, which holds 73,000 people, may enjoy a capacity crowd on May 27th.

"The (English) Rugby Football Union (RFU) originally anticipated a 55,000 potential crowd but we are delighted that the interest in this match now requires us to make the whole stadium available," said RFU official Terry Burwell.

"Supporters are strongly advised to purchase tickets early as a sell-out is anticipated. With an estimated 30,000 Munster supporters expected, this will represent the largest Irish attendance of all time at a Twickenham match." Munster have already sold more than 20,000 tickets.