Connacht's preparations for their European Champions Cup opener against Toulouse have been hit with a fresh raft of injuries.

Tom McCartney, Matt Healy and Denis Buckley are all set to miss the opening two rounds of European action after being told that they won't return to action until November.

That means that Buckley and Healy also likely to miss Ireland's November Internationals.

Ahead of this Saturday's Pool 2 opener against Toulouse, there's better news in relation to several other first-team players. Quinn Roux is still following the return-to-play protocols but hasn't been ruled-out as yet.

Sean O'Brien, Kieran Marmion, Eoin McKeon, Eoin Griffin and Rory Parata are all expected to return to training this week while centre Peter Robb is also continuing his recovery from a hip injury.