Ulster: Iain Henderson and Stuart McCloskey ruled out of Boxing Day game with Connacht
- Published
Injury-plagued Henderson has managed only two Ulster appearances this season
Iain Henderson and Stuart McCloskey have been ruled out of Ulster's interpro United Rugby Championship (URC) game against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Sunday.
Captain Henderson picked up an ankle injury in Friday's Champions Cup win over Northampton in Belfast.
Centre McCloskey sustained a hamstring problem in the same game.
Ulster have said they expect both players will "remain unavailable for selection for a number of weeks".
Henderson was forced off with an ankle problem in the second half of the Northampton game with Dan McFarland's side already having lost the in-form McCloskey to injury in the first-half.
It is another bad blow for Henderson, who has missed the majority of this season because of injury. He made a late return to competitive action following his involvement in the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, restricting him to just two club appearances.
Having played in the defeat by Connacht in October, the experienced lock was ruled out of Ireland's final autumn Test against Argentina in November shortly before kick-off having pulled a hamstring in the warm-up. He returned to skipper Ulster against Northampton.
Connacht sit nine points behind third-placed Ulster in the URC, but they won the last game between the sides at the Aviva Stadium in October, with Mack Hansen running in two tries in an impressive 36-11 victory for the Westerners.
While Ulster go into the Boxing Day encounter on the back of their win over the Saints, Connacht lost 29-23 to Leicester Tigers.
Meanwhile, Ulster have announced contract extensions for six players. On Tuesday, the club confirmed that 22-year-old centre James Hume, prop Tom O'Toole, 23, and 28-year-old flanker Matty Rea have signed new two-year contracts, keeping the trio at the Kingspan until the summer of 2024.
On Wednesday, 27-year-old fly-half Billy Burns and prop Marty Moore, 30, also extended their deals until 2024, while 30-year-old flanker Jordi Murphy penned a one-year extension.