The Munster hooker admitted he had deserved a red card for the extraordinary hack, which forced Palisson out of the game with a dead leg after only 23 minutes.

Flannery escaped any severe sanction at the time because the touch judge, Stuart Terheege, believed the challenge had been a “shoulder charge”.

The disciplinary panel found Flannery had been reckless but not deliberate in his actions and decided the offence was mid-range in its severity.

Flannery’s plea and the remorse he showed for Palisson’s injury persuaded the panel to reign the suspension back from a potential eight weeks.

The ban runs until March 29, which means Flannery will be available for Munster’s Magners League game against Leinster and their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Northampton on April 10.

The Irish Rugby Union are waiting for the full written judgment before deciding whether to take any further action.

In the absence of a successful appeal, Flannery is likely to be replaced by Ulster hooker Rory Best for the crunch game against England at Twickenham a week on Saturday.

Best is a strong set-piece exponent and was in the running for a place on the Lions tour this summer but the loss of Flannery is a blow nevertheless as Ireland look to pick up the pieces of their shattered Grand Slam defence.