Connacht captain Carty ruled out of Ulster season opener in United Rugby Championship

Connacht captain Jack Carty has been ruled out of Saturday's season opener against Ulster as he continues his recovery from wrist surgery.

The out-half missed Ireland's tour of New Zealand to have an operation on the longstanding injury and the BTK United Rugby Championship derby at Kingspan Stadium has come too soon.

Carty's absence means David Hawkshaw could make his Connacht debut in Belfast, with Conor Fitzgerald also in contention.

"He's our skipper this year and you never like to miss top-quality players, but it opens up an opportunity there for either Conor Fitz or Dave Hawkshaw," said Connacht head coach Andy Friend.

"I feel really comfortable with the depth that we have got sitting in behind but in your big inter-pro games, especially away from home, if you have got your more experienced players out there you tend to have a little bit more comfort.

"That’s not to say that either of those two other blokes aren’t going to go very very well. We know that Jack’s not available but David and Conor are there and I know that those two men if they get an opportunity, they won’t let us down."

Hawkshaw was one of four summer arrivals from Leinster, with southern hemisphere duo Byron Ralston and Shamus Hurley-Langton also moving to Galway, and Friend believes all six will prove to be great additions as he looks to strengthen the squad's depth.

"Peter Dooley has slotted in seamlessly, adding in a lot of experience with his 104 caps for Leinster," said Friend. "It was a brave move for him to come down but I think it will pay nice dividends for him.

"Josh Murphy didn't train for a lot of the early part of pre-season but you saw against Sale he adds a real bit of mongrel to our pack, which we needed.

"I really like Dave Hawkshaw as a