Munster and South Africa second row RG Snyman has suffered a re-rupture of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his knee, the province have confirmed.
The World Cup-winning Springbok was just three replacement appearances into his comeback from the serious injury when he departed the field at Parc y Scarlets on Sunday limping just nine minutes after emerging from the bench.
The 26-year-old appeared to injure it after claiming a Scarlets restart in Munster's 43-13 victory in the United Rugby Championship.
The severity of the injury will come as a devastating blow to Snyman and Munster, with the lock having originally suffered an ACL tear just seven minutes into his debut for the province vs Leinster in August 2020.
He made a return after 13 months out in Munster's opening game of the 2021/22 URC season off the bench vs the Sharks, before emerging as a replacement against the Stormers a week on and scoring a try to much fanfare.
His third appearance off the bench was to precede disaster in West Wales, however.
Commenting on the injury blow, head coach Johann van Graan said, "We are all hugely disappointed for RG.
"After doing everything that was asked of him and working so hard to get back into great shape everyone feels for him right now.
"While this is a setback, we know RG is young and resilient given everything he has gone through in the last year so there is a strong sense of perspective here.
"We have seen what other world-class players have done in this position before and they have come back to reach the successful heights of their careers and I would expect no different for someone of RG's class and standing."