Ireland back Mack Hansen has suffered another injury setback with his latest foot injury requiring surgery that could rule him out of the Six Nations.
The 27-year-old first sustained the problem on the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia and missed all three Tests of the victorious series.
The Connacht back-three player reaggravated the issue on his only provincial appearance of the season against the Bulls in October and subsequently missed Ireland’s autumn series games against New Zealand and Japan.
He was named at full-back for the first time in his Test career against Australia and marked his return with a memorable first-half hat-trick.
A week later against South Africa, however, he was replaced after 64 minutes with Connacht stating an estimate for his return will “be determined” after Tuesday’s surgery.
Ireland start their 2026 Six Nations away to France on 5 February.
Connacht face Ospreys in their 2025-26 Challenge Cup opener at Brewery Field, in Bridgend on Sunday (15:15 GMT).
Hansen’s fellow Irish internationals Cian Prendergast and Caolin Blade will also miss the game through injury, while once-capped All Black Josh Ioane is a doubt.