Leamy appeared to limp off after Munster ended Perpignan’s 23-game unbeaten run at the Stade Aime Giral with a 37-14 Heineken Cup victory.

The 28-year-old was taken straight to team doctors after arriving back in Ireland on Monday where scans revealed the extent of the damage to his knee.

Leamy looked to have suffered the injury in the final moments of the European encounter and has already gone under the knife to fix the problem.

The Munster flanker played a part in both Ireland’s opening autumn internationals against Australia and Fiji before sitting out the clash with world champions South Ankle with an ankle injury.

Leamy returned for Munster two weeks later, however his latest stint on the treatment table is more serious and he has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Earlier in the clash with Perpignan Leamy was on the receiving end of a head butt from Jerome Schuster with the prop set to face a disciplinary panel over the incident.