Ireland winger Simon Zebo will not be rushed back into action, according to Munster head coach Rob Penney.
Zebo picked up a foot injury in October and the initial prognosis was that he would be out for ten weeks – ruling him out of Ireland’s autumn campaign.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt will hope to have the Munster flyer available to him for the 2014 RBS 6 Nations.
But with Munster riding high at the top of the PRO12 table, Penney admits there is no need to risk Zebo before he is ready.
“I think he’ll be back [training] on the grass this week,” Penney told the Irish Examiner.
“Obviously because of the nature of his injury we’ll just be ultra cautious.
“We’ve got some good boys going in the back three, if he’s not right, he’s not right.
“We don’t need to try to force him because he’s really important to Irish rugby. He’s probably been shut out at the moment so he just needs to come back and be in good form and try to force his claims.”
