Andy Farrell says it's possible he could call Cian Healy into his Rugby World Cup squad if his side advance to the quarter-finals.
Robbie Henshaw will miss Saturday's Pool B decider against Scotland due to a hamstring injury, which the Ireland head coach believes could take at least two weeks to heal.
Farrell won't call up a replacement ahead of this weekend, believing they will have a better read on Henshaw's return by Sunday.
The Athlone centre took a limited part in training in Paris today.
If Ireland advance to a quarter-final and Henshaw were to miss a couple of weeks, it seems likely that Farrell would have to bring a replacement into the squad for the quarter-final week.
However, he may not feel the need to swap like for like, and follow South Africa's lead in calling up a player who better fills his needs.
Stuart McCloskey will replace Henshaw on the bench tomorrow, and the Ulster centre's inclusion in the original 33-man squad at the end of August came as part of a 18:15 split of forwards to backs, when most other countries were choosing to go with 19:14.
As such, it means that Ireland are well stocked for options to cover Henshaw right now. With Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose starting and McCloskey on the bench, they still have Jimmy O'Brien as a centre option if needed, while Keith Earls and Jack Crowley can also cover midfield.
That opens the door for a potential return for Cian Healy (above). The 35-year-old was left out of the original squad having suffered an ankle injury in the final warm-up game against Samoa, but appears to have made a full recovery.
And when asked if he had considered the possibility of bringing Healy in if Henshaw was to be ruled out, Farrell admitted it was certainly an option.
"It's not always a replacement like for like and Cian is obviously one of those players who’s at the forefront of our minds," he said.
However, Farrell said the bumps and bruises emanating from this weekend's game against Scotland would largely dictate their plans if they were preparing for a quarter-final.
"When we have a look at whatever else throws itself up at the weekend, and we've been fortunate so far, haven’t we, it all depends in regards to if someone else goes down, what does the squad need?
"What do we need to prepare properly?"
Farrell (above) made two changes to his side following the win against South Africa a fortnight ago. Dan Sheehan comes in for Rónan Kelleher at hooker having appeared off the bench against the Springboks, while Iain Henderson is also promoted to the starting side as James Ryan drops to the bench.
Ryan picked up a bang to the wrist during that victory and has been sporting a bandage on his hand in recent days, but Farrell insists that his decision is very much a selection call, rather than fitness-related.
"He deserves it. He's been excellent, outstanding as a leader all the way through pre-season," he said of Henderson, adding that he's been most impressed with the lock's attitude in the last year, having seen Ryan and Beirne consistently start in front of him.
"It’s a new enough role for him being on the bench. It wouldn’t be that many times that he’s started on the bench throughout his career. He’s not just added to the team and been selfless in that regard, which you would expect him to do as a leader of the side, but he has performed really, really strongly when he’s come on, so he deserves his chance.
"And not just that. Big, young Joe McCarthy is part of the equation as well. The competition for places in the second row is exactly where it should be and they all know that."
There are a number of permutations Ireland will have to be wary of this weekend, anything from first place in the pool to elimination still a possibility depending on the result.
In simple terms, a win will see Ireland through to the quarters as pool winners, and captain Johnny Sexton says that's the main result they're thinking of.
"It was always going to come down to this game," the 38-year-old said.
"It was possible that Scotland could be the unbeaten team and us needing to chase it to win, but ultimately it comes down to a must win.
"So yeah, it's exactly where we want to be. We’ve been lucky enough with injuries to date so from that regard we’re in a good place. I think with our form we still feel that there’s more in us.
"Parts of the South Africa game, we look back and if we were on the other side of the result we’d be taking huge lessons from it in terms of some of our parts of the game didn’t click. So we still feel there are some parts of our game we need to improve if we want to go further in this competition and that comes down to this weekend."
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen to live commentary of Ireland v Scotland on Saturday on RTÉ Radio 1, or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
