Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor confirmed the news today at his pre-match press conference ahead of their big clash against Northampton on Saturday in the Aviva Stadium.

Jack McGrath now looks certain to land a place in the starting 15, however Healy’s experience and presence will be missed for the three-time Heineken Cup winners.

O’Connor said: “Cian had ankle surgery on Wednesday, so he will be unavailable for about 8 weeks, it was syndesmosis and they repaired that, he’s doing good but he won’t play for a while.”

“Ankle sprains are becoming very complicated, so that was longer than we would have liked but until you scan it you don’t really know”.

There is still nothing definite about Sean O’Brien’s contract situation. O’Brien, who’s been linked with a move to Clermont, has been suffering from a dead leg that he picked up in the game at Franklins Gardens.

“Sean has trained this week, we will give him as long as possible, we will have to wait and see but hopefully he will be alright,” the Leinster head coach said.

He added: “It’s just one of those things you just have to wait and see, he’s got a dead leg, it’s improving very quickly but we just have to wait.”

The rest of the Leinster squad are in good shape heading into the return game with the Saints and O’Connor added the players are buzzing to play in the Aviva again.

“The boys have trained really well and they are looking forward to it, the guys are under no illusions on what the Saints will bring this week, they are really excited about playing in front of a massive crowd at the Aviva and it will be a great occasion.”

“The guys are very conscious about not letting themselves down, we have a great start so far but we have to build on that.”