Johnny Sexton appears set to make his first appearance of the season this weekend.

Leinster say that the Ireland and Lions out-half will be available for Friday's Pro12 contest against the Ospreys as he prepares to return from a four-month lay-off with a shoulder injury.

“He has gone well, he went through a good block of work last week in training and all looks good," said Leinster assistant coach Girvan Dempsey.

However, he has also confirmed that Rob Kearney is struggling with a knee injury, which means that he is now struggling to recover in time for the opening European Champions Cup match against Castres in three weeks time.

Zane Kirchner started at full-back in his place for the weekend's Guinness Pro 12 victory over Edinburgh.