Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll is set to miss next year's Six Nations campaign after being ruled out for up to six months with a shoulder injury.
O'Driscoll will undergo surgery on a trapped nerve in his shoulder next week.
The news will also come as a major blow to Heineken Cup holders Leinster as the centre will be absent for their entire Pool 3 qualifying series.
Leinster will begin their defence against Montpellier ron Saturday.
O'Driscoll struggled with a shoulder injury throughout the World Cup and missed his province's Rabo Direct Pro12 win over Munster on Friday.
The loss of O'Driscoll will be a big blow to Leinster, who have been without the 32-year-old since Ireland's Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat by Wales in Wellington.
O'Driscoll, who earned the first of his 117 Ireland caps in 1999, will now face a race against time to return to fitness before the end of the season.
The Leinster centre is Ireland's record try scorer and in 2011 he broke the 78-year-old record set by Scotland's Ian Smith as the all-time Five/Six Nations top try scorer when he crossed for his 25th championship try against England.
O'Driscoll has been unlucky with injury, notably missing the majority of the 2005 British Lions tour to New Zealand after he suffered a dislocated shoulder following an illegal spear tackle by Tana Umaga.
Last month, the centre revealed in an interview with the Evening Herald that he wants to bow out of the game after the 2013 Lions Tour to Australia.
