His return comes at a particularly opportune time as Munster push for honours on two fronts, in the league and Amlin Challenge Cup.

Also back from injury are back row duo Niall Ronan and Peter O'Mahony, both of whom trained with the squad in Limerick on Monday and are likely to make the trip north.

Meanwhile, centre Tom Gleeson will undergo a hernia operation on Thursday and winger Ian Dowling will see a specialist this week to get further clarification as he continues to recover from the hip injury he sustained last September.