Joey Carbery has been left out of the Munster squad that will take on the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
Jack Crowley will start at out-half with Ben Healy amongst the substitutes.
Carbery started on the bench for Munster last week and there has been no word on whether he picked up a knock in training this week.
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It's another disappointment in what has been a frustrating few months for Carbery with the 27-year-old losing his place in the Ireland set-up to the resurgent Ross Byrne.
In positive news for Munster, Keith Earls is back on the bench and is in line to win his 199th cap in his first appearance for the province since New Year's Day. RG Snyman will make just his second URC start for the province since joining in 2020.
With just two rounds of fixtures left, Munster will be looking for a positive result to snap their two match losing streak and book their place in the last 8 of the URC.
Irish rivals Leinster also find themselves in South Africa and will take on the Emirates Lions on Saturday. Unlike Munster, Leinster are safe in the knowledge that passage to the playoffs has already been long secured.
Rhys Ruddock will captain the side in Johannesburg, but the big news comes in the form of Sam Prendergast's debut. The Ireland U20 star will make his first senior appearance for Leo Cullen's men just week's after leading Ireland to a second successive U20 Grand Slam success.
Sitting in third place in the table, Ulster head to Wales knowing a victory over the Dragons will see Dan McFarland's men move into the top two until at least Saturday afternoon.
John Cooney and Billy Burns form the familiar half-back partnership as Ulster look to build on their four-match win streak in the URC.
Connacht find themselves just three points inside the playoff places and know that a positive end to the season is a must to progress to the last 8 of the competition. They take on a Cardiff side that need two wins from their final couple of games to stand any chance of making it to the playoffs.
Jack Carty, Finlay Bealham, Denis Buckley, Jarrad Butler, Josh Murphy and Diarmuid Kilgallen all return to the starting XV after spells on the sidelines in recent weeks.
Ulster team to face Dragons: Friday at 7.35pm
Leinster team to face Emirates Lions: Saturday at 3pm
Munster team to face Stormers: Saturday at 5.15pm
Connacht team to face Cardiff: Saturday at 7.35pm
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