In what is a blow for Munster and Ireland ahead of the new season, out-half Jack Crowley is expected to be sidelined until early 2027 as he continues to recover from the effects of a lower limb vascular injury.
The 26-year-old will also miss Ireland's Autumn Tests against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa, as well as any Nations Championship play-off games.
After excelling for Ireland in the number 10 jersey during the Guinness Six Nations, Crowley was then absent for the closing stages of Munster's URC campaign and Ireland's opening games in the Nations Championship.
Utmost in Munster's thinking is that the player is giving ample time to recover, with head coach Clayton McMillan saying: "Jack Crowley is a very important player for Munster and Ireland with a big future in the game and ensuring he gets back to 100% is the priority.
"We have a good mix of experience and youth available in the out-half position with JJ Hanrahan and academy men Tom Wood and Charlie O'Shea.
"JJ has played 160 games for Munster and is our third-highest points-scorer of all-time so he is a player we know we can count on."
"Tom Wood and Charlie O'Shea are very exciting young players who have come up through the Munster pathway and excelled with the Ireland U20s last season.
McMillan was speaking as Munster continue their pre-season training programme in France with a game against La Rochelle on Friday. A number of other players are presently nursing injuries, with new signing Will Harrison injuring his knee in pre-season.
Marnus van der Merwe has started to reintegrate to team training having suffered a calf injury at the end of the last campaign.
Edwin Edogbo, Tom Farrell (both shoulder) and Calvin Nash (hamstring) underwent successful surgeries in the summer and are all expected to return during the opening block of fixtures.
Ruadhán Quinn has undergone surgery on an ankle injury this month and is expected back for the early rounds of the season.
McMillan also gave an update on McMillan's progress and what he wants to get from the French training camp: "Will Harrison's injury is a frustrating one for him because he has come into a new environment and made an immediate impression, but the reaggravation is a setback and we want to make sure he’s in the best possible condition before he takes the field.
"The pre-season game in France is a vital part of our pre-season programme and getting valuable time together is a great opportunity for our squad and management team to build on all of the great work we have done over the past four weeks.
"The players enjoyed important time off with family and friends over the summer and came back in really refreshed, full of energy and in really good physical condition.
"That has allowed us to hit the ground running when pre-season started last month and spending a number of days together in France is a great opportunity for the team and management to make another big step forward ahead of the new season and consolidate all the progress we have made."
