The Irish international fractured his left hand in the final play of the 18-12 victory over Munster in Thomond Park.

He is in Dublin today with a surgeon but Pat Lam does not expect him back until mid-January at the earliest.

“Unfortunately, Robbie fractured his hand in the last play of the game. He is with the surgeon in Dublin, he had an x-ray and at this stage he will probably be out for six weeks,” said Lam.

That means that Henshaw will miss the back-to-back Challenge Cup games against Newcastle Falcons and the Irish derby encounters at home to Ulster and away to Leinster over the Christmas period.

And the bad news does not end there either for Connacht with prop Denis Buckley facing three weeks out with an ankle injury, while No.8 Eoghan Masterson will also be out for a similar period with a fractured thumb.

And Lam said that flanker Nepia Fox-Matamua will be probably be out for the season after it was confirmed that he has suffered an ACL injury.

Connacht will have tighthead prop Rodney Ah You back for this weekend’s trip to Cardiff Blues following the death of his father in New Zealand.

Quinn Roux, Ben Marshall, Dave McSharry and Eoin McKeon are all available as well this weekend.