The Ireland management were incensed after Ledesma appeared to slide into Longwell with his knee while the big Ulsterman was lying on ground in the 26th minute.

However, the horrendous swampy conditions at Lansdowne Road on Saturday may have contributed to the situation.

Speaking to BBC Sport Online, Longwell claimed that the initial pain was as severe as he had ever felt.

''Thankfully there are no broken bones,'' he said.

''It looked bad at the start, but I'm still hopeful of playing for Ulster next week against Glasgow in the Celtic League.

''When he hit me, I felt a searing pain.

''However, when I was helped back to the changing room, the pain had alleviated somewhat.

''It's painful now, but the damage has been done more to the soft tissue area near the base of the neck.''

Ireland will make a decision on whether to cite after a futher viewing of the match video.