Ulster missing five for Cardiff clash including Ireland trio and Steven Kitshoff
Ulster's Iain Henderson of Rugby is tackled by Clermont's Léon Darricarrere during the Challenge Cup quarter-final at Stade Marcel Michelin in Clermont last Saturday. Photo: John Dickson/Sportsfile
Ulster are set to be without a significant number of front-line stars for their return to United Rugby Championship action when they take on Cardiff at Ravenhill on Friday night.
The Irish trio of Iain Henderson, Rob Herring and Nick Timoney have all been ruled out after limping off against Clermont last week, as have Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff and full-back Stewart Moore.
It means Richie Murphy's hand will be severely restricted for their first game on home soil since March 2, although the head coach has admitted he was going to rotate his panel anyway.
Stephen Ferris previews Ulster's URC clash with Cardiff
The quintet were all withdrawn at various points during Ulster's 53-14 loss at the Stade Marcel-Michelin on Saturday, which saw their European campaign ended at the Quarter-Final stages of the Challenge Cup.
Moore and Herring were both withdrawn before half-time with respective hamstring injuries, with Henderson not emerging for the second half after suffering a re-occurrence of the toe injury he sustained against Montpellier a week previous.
They will be joined on the injury list by Timoney, who has also hurt his toe, and Kitshoff, who was helped off with a knee problem and could have played his last game for the province depending on its severity.
Ulster did not confirm if any players will return from injury this weekend, with the likes of Billy Burns and Kieran Treadwell both on the injury list as of last week.
