After all, Coetzee has a history of serious injuries and the South African is a massive part of Ulster’s success under Dan McFarland as they continue their chase after Leinster in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14 this weekend.

Coetzee will leave the club at the end of the season to join the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, and there were fears he may have played his last game for Ulster, but the loose forward’s thigh injury was diagnosed as not being that serious and he could be back for the Irish club shortly.

Ulster host Ospreys on Friday night needing a comprehensive victory to keep up the pressure on defending champions Leinster, who are at home in Dublin against Glasgow Warriors on Sunday.

Now five points behind Leinster, McFarland’s side need to keep on winning while the non-Irish sides continue to fight for Champions’ Cup places in PRO14 action.

Coetzee was one of the try-scorers in the last outing in October as Ulster won away from home and they will need to repeat that victory if they are to keep the heat on Leinster.

But the Ospreys are unbeaten this year, following wins against Cardiff, Dragons, Connacht and Zebre.

Johann van Graan’s Munster side look unstoppable in Conference B, but they face a tough trip to Cardiff to face the Blues on Friday night.

It will be the first time that the Blues are back at Cardiff Arms Park in 12 months, against a tough Munster side that have won the last three clashes against these two sides. Munster have also not tasted defeat in Wales in three years and will be confident to continue this record this weekend.

Back-to-back victories over Welsh sides Dragons and Cardiff Blues this month have maintained Connacht’s stranglehold on second place in Conference B.

The Irishmen are seven points clear of third-placed Scarlets and travel to Italy hoping for a third successive victory for the first time since November 2019.

Edinburgh will be hoping to extend their record of wins against the Scarlets on Saturday after winning the last six games against the Welsh side.

The Welshmen ended a three-match losing run with a comfortable 41-17 victory over Benetton last weekend to keep their European Champions Cup bid alive, but they cannot afford any slip-ups with Cardiff lurking just four points behind.

Other games this weekend see Benneton host Connacht on Friday night, while Zebre host the Dragons on Saturday.

Weekend fixtures

Friday, 26 February:
20h30: Benneton v Connacht
22h00: Cardiff v Munster
22h00: Ulster v Ospreys

Saturday, 27 February:
14h00: Edinburgh v Scarlets
19h15: Zebre v Dragons

Sunday, 28 February:
19h30: Leinster v Glasgow Warriors