Ulster winger Robert Baloucoune has been ruled out of Ireland's first tour of New Zealand in a decade after picking up an injury in Saturday’s URC semi-final defeat to the Stormers.
Baloucoune scored a try in the last-four showdown before being forced off 46 minutes into the agonising 17-15 loss in Cape Town.
It will be a major disappointment to the rapid 24-year-old who scored 11 tries for Dan McFarland’s men in all competitions last season.
Read more: Ulster's quest to secure home URC final ends in agony as Stormers strike at the death
Baloucoune made a try-scoring debut for Ireland against the USA last summer and earned the second of his two caps so far in a 53-7 hammering of Argentina in November.
While Baloucoune misses out, exciting Ulster backs James Hume and Michael Lowry, who missed the Stormers game after undergoing surgery on a facial injury, have both been named in the 40-man panel.
And dynamic flanker Nick Timoney has also been rewarded for an impressive season after being included in the forwards.
Kieran Treadwell also gets a call-up alongside Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole and Iain Henderson, bringing the total number of Ulster players in the travelling party to seven.
Andy Farrell's squad will be captained by Johnny Sexton with five uncapped players - Ciaran Frawley, Joe McCarthy and Jimmy O’Brien (all Leinster), Jeremy Loughman (Munster) and Cian Prendergast (Connacht) - all included.
Baloucoune, Andrew Conway and Chris Farrell (both Munster), as well as first choice hooker Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), have all been ruled out.
Ireland's mission is to win a Test on Kiwi soil for the first time ever as the squad embarks on a first summer tour since the 2018 series win over Australia.
The tourists will play three Test matches against New Zealand in Auckland, Dunedin and Wellington as well as two fixtures against the Māori All Blacks in Hamilton.
Farrell said: "This is the start of our Rugby World Cup campaign and it is going to be a fantastic challenge for our group facing five massive tests across the three weeks.
"Due to Covid we haven’t had an opportunity to tour and touring plays a massive role in teams gelling together and building cohesion on and off the field.
"We will learn so much about the players and the group as a whole as we have to front up for five incredibly tough fixtures, far from the comforts of home and in grounds where the home support will greatly outnumber travelling Irish fans."
Connacht’s Senior Coach Peter Wilkins will join the national coaching group for the duration of the tour to assist in team preparation while Mick Kearney returns as team manager.
IRELAND 2022 SUMMER TOUR SQUAD
BACKS (18)
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 37 caps
Harry Byrne (Leinster/Lansdowne) 2 caps
Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 32 caps
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 5 caps
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 96 caps
Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/Skerries) uncapped
Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 17 caps
Mack Hansen (Connacht) 4 caps
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 57 caps
James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge) 3 caps
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 20 caps
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 30 caps
James Lowe (Leinster) 12 caps
Michael Lowry (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 96 caps
Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster/Naas) uncapped
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 42 caps
Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 105 caps CAPTAIN
FORWARDS (22)
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 8 caps
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 23 caps
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 30 caps
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 27 caps
Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster) 2 caps
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 17 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 57 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 116 caps
Dave Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers) 6 caps
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 68 caps
Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 26 caps
Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen) uncapped
Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin) uncapped
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 84 caps
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 2 caps
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 43 caps
Cian Prendergast (Connacht) uncapped
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 43 caps
Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne) 7 caps
Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) 2 caps
Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena) 5 caps
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 40 caps
IRELAND SUMMER TOUR FIXTURES
- Māori All Blacks v IRELAND
FMG Stadium, Hamilton, Wednesday 29th June, 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
- New Zealand v IRELAND
Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday 2nd July, 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
- New Zealand v IRELAND
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, Saturday 9th July, 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
- Māori All Blacks v IRELAND
SKY Stadium, Wellington, Tuesday 12th July, 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
- New Zealand v IRELAND
SKY Stadium, Wellington, Saturday 16th July, 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
Read more: Ireland coach Andy Farrell given "roll the dice" advice on Ulster star ahead of New Zealand tour
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