JONATHAN SEXTON is a major doubt for Leinster in their forthcoming Heineken Cup matches against the Scarlets after it emerged he may have finished Saturday’s win over South Africa with a broken hand. Further scans will reveal the full extent of the damage today.

Sexton is unlikely to be available for Leinster’s Magners League game away to the Dragons next Sunday but if he has merely suffered severe bruising then he should be fit for the visit to Llanelli the following Saturday.

However, if scans confirm a broken bone in his hand, then he is likely to be sidelined for three weeks, and thus miss at least one, and probably both of the back-to-back meetings with the Welsh outfit.

The Ulster pair of Paddy Wallace and Stephen Ferris both sustained strained ankle ligaments. Again, pending further tests, the extent of their absence has still to be determined but neither are likely to play at home to Glasgow in the Magners League next Friday.

– Gerry Thornley