Leinster captain Sexton ruled out for Northampton visit to Dublin

Jonathan Sexton has been ruled out of Leinster's Heineken Champions Cup meeting with Northampton Saints this weekend but the full extent of his knee injury has yet to be determined.

The Ireland out-half suffered the injury during Leinster's impressive defeat of the Saints in Franklin's Gardens on Saturday and a missive from the province on Monday morning said that he will see a specialist today for further assessment and another scan.

Ross Byrne is a more than capable deputy - as he was again this time - but the hope is that the issue will not be serious, or long-term, as there are a slew of big, important fixtures approaching in the coming months for club and country.

Leinster play three interpro fixtures over the Christmas but the plan is that those internationals who played in the World Cup will be rested for the majority of that period in the hope that they can avoid burnout later in the season.

What follows are rounds five and six of Europe in January and the Six Nations in early February.

Leinster are also without Joe Tomane and Rory O'Loughlin for this weekend's game at the Aviva Stadium.

Tomane has re-aggravated a hamstring problem and faces six-to-eight weeks out of action. O'Loughlin is continuing rehab following a shoulder injury.

James Ryan will follow graduated return-to-play protocols after suffering a head injury and being removed two days ago but Sean Cronin, unavailable since Japan, has returned to full training following a neck injury.

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