Ulster will be without key players Angus Bell and James Hume for Saturday's European Challenge Cup semi-final against Exeter Chiefs, the club has confirmed.
The Australia prop and the Irish centre both sustained injuries during Ulster's United Rugby Championship defeat to Leinster in April. Bell has a foot issue, while Hume is struggling with a neck complaint, and neither has recovered in time for the match at Kingspan Stadium.
Sam Crean steps in for Bell in the front row, joining Tom Stewart and Tom O'Toole. Captain Iain Henderson partners Cormac Izuchukwu in the second row, with Nick Timoney returning from injury to line up alongside David McCann and Juarno Augustus in the back row.
Exeter will be captained by Wales lock Dafydd Jenkins, but they are without Greg Fisilau, Paul Brown-Bampoe, and suspended back-row Ethan Roots. The Chiefs are chasing their first trophy since winning the Premiership Rugby Cup in 2023 and their first European silverware since the 2020 Champions Cup triumph.
Ulster's last trophy came in 2006 when they won the Celtic League. The winner of this semi-final will face either Montpellier or Dragons in the final in Bilbao on 22 May.