Iain Henderson facing Six Nations fitness race following hamstring injury

Ireland's next cult hero would be a huge loss to Joe Schmidt.

Ulster face being without Iain Henderson for their vital Champions Cup back-to-back matches against Toulouse and beyond as it has been reported that the forward will be out of action until the New Year. Henderson was the breakout star of Ireland's World Cup campaign, but spent time on the sidelines with a thumb injury after the tournament before returning to action in recent weeks. However, the hulking loose forward suffered another injury in the weekend victory Pro12 over Edinburgh - this time to his hamstring - and while Ulster are awaiting the full results of medical tests on the problem, the Belfast Telegraph is this morning reporting that Henderson will not feature again in 2015. Depending on the severity of the injury, Henderson could also miss Ulster's January European pool matches, including home and away fixtures against Oyonnax and a trip to Saracens. Ireland boss Schmidt will be eager for him to feature at some point prior to the start of the Six Nations at the beginning of February, with Henderson set to take on an even bigger roles following the retirement of Paul O'Connell and the injury to Munster back row Peter O'Mahony.