MACK Hansen will not feature for Connacht this weekend as he is still not ready for a return to action.
The Ireland winger has not featured for club or country since dislocating his shoulder against Munster on New Year’s Day.
Pete Wilkins’ side are set to face Leinster in the final regular season fixture of the URC campaign this weekend (7:45pm on Friday)
But the Ireland winger will not be part of the squad that plays Leo Cullen’s Leinster in Dublin this Friday.
The Connacht boss says he still doesn’t have a timeline for the player’s return after shoulder surgery.
Canberra native Hansen underwent surgery on the shoulder injury but his rehab has gone slower than expected.
Wilkins said:”Still no Mack and I don’t expect him to be available for Leinster either.
“It’s a week-to-week prospect but he’s not back to the stage where he can be doing his full return to contact work yet, to test out the shoulder.
“There’s no panic but it’s frustrating for him and it’s frustrating for us because we’d prefer to have him available.”
The news of the delay also puts Andy Farrell’s plans in limbo as Pete Wilkins couldn’t confirm if the 26-year-old would be available for Ireland’s summer tour of South Africa.
The English-born Connacht boss added: “It’s been very much open-ended for the last six weeks, which has been frustrating but it’s just where he finds himself at with the injury.
“So there’s nothing to suggest that he wouldn’t make it back for the play-offs or the summer tour.
“But the experience of the last month or so means that we won’t take anything for granted and we’ll just wait and see.”
The 2024 Six Nations Championship winners are scheduled to face Rassie Erasmus’ side twice in the summer.
First up, the rivals will play in Pretoria on 6 July, with the second test set to be in Durban.