Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said he isn't overly worried about the prospect of some of his players taking on South Africa next week, despite some of his squad having yet to feature for their provinces this season.
Several members of the group have carried knocks into the Bank of Ireland Nations Series camp, but the outlook is positive for most of those players, with a number of them being reintegrated into group training this week ahead of the opening game of the Test window against South Africa on 5 November.
Among those who are being monitored in their injury recovery are Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan, who are yet to play this season after hamstring and abdominal issues, while Tadhg Furlong has only featured once in the campaign, with an ankle injury ruling him out of Leinster's win against Munster last Saturday.
However, Farrell is confident all of his 37-man squad will be available for the opening game against the Springboks.
"There's a lot going on but in general the feeling is among the medical staff is that people are progressing really well," he said.
"Most people should be back sometime this week, if not the end of the week and then there’s a couple that we’ll keep assessing throughout.
"So, decent enough news actually, coming in last night and medical checks this morning. Not a bad place to be.
"But certainly nobody's ruled out at this stage.
"Hugo [Keenan], I'm told, will be available, he’s going to be training with us this week.
"We’re gradually building the week anyway as we go so Thursday, Friday is going to be a big couple of days for a few of the players. But we’ll just wait and see. There’s some people that can handle those type of situations better than others."
The Ireland head coach doesn't believe the lack of gametime this season will hinder those players returning to action.
"Some players don't need that much gametime, some players are able to just hit it straight from the word go, some players need five or six games to hit the ground running.
"It’s up to us to assess that. We’re not a massive playing group as well, so needs must at times."
The head coach also revealed there won't be any additional players released back to the provinces for this weekend's round of games in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Leinster are away to Scarlets on Friday night, with Munster hosting Ulster on Saturday and Connacht in Swansea to face the Ospreys (both games live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
The provinces will have their Ireland A contingent available for selection but Farrell confirmed none of his main 37-man squad would be featuring in this weekend's games.
Ireland kick off the first of three games next month against South Africa at the Aviva Stadium, before facing Fiji and Australia on the following two weekends.
And the Englishman says the Springboks will provide a challenge they've rarely experienced in recent seasons.
"They’ve got a unique way of playing and they’re all on the same page, that’s their strength isn’t it? They know their point of different and go after it hard and have been very successful in doing that.
"Being aware of what South Africa are about is absolutely key, because we need to know what they’re trying to achieve. How we progress our own game is just as, if not more, important.
"If you want to compare it to what we’ve faced over the short period of time, the French away game [in February], a big set who go after you in defence and setpieces are a main part of their game. They play a good territory-type, strangling game. That didn't work out too well for us in the end [v France], so we have to show progression from that.
And while the sides are due to meet again in just under 11 months in Pool B of the Rugby World Cup, the Ireland boss isn't expecting any shadowboxing in Dublin next week.
"There’s a long time between drinks as far as that’s concerned. Concentrating on the here and now is what we’re after, progressing our game like in any competition and seeing how the land lies after this, going into a competitive Six Nations," he added.
