Connacht boss Pete Wilkins is confident Ireland duo Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham will be "fighting fit" for the Six Nations after coming through a bruising Champions Cup encounter with Bristol on Friday night.
Andy Farrell's side, already missing Connacht wing Mack Hansen with a shoulder injury, begin the defence of their title against France on 2 February in Marseille.
World Rugby player of the year nominee Aki was one of the Westerners' standout performers as they secured a Challenge Cup place with a dominant 27-10 win over the Bears at the Dexcom Stadium.
The 33-year-old centre limped off at half-time but returned to finish out the game and was spotted laughing at the end as Connacht got the job done on a freezing night in Galway with a fifth-place finish in Pool 1 enough to progress in Europe albeit dropping out of the top tier.
"Bundee had a collision onto his knee so there wasn't anything structural there," Wilkins told RTÉ Sport.
"It was pretty sore, you could see that in the way he was moving but there was no issue with him battling through."
Bealham, who started three of Ireland's Six Nations games last season, was in the wars in Galway.
The tighthead took a boot to the head in an incident that saw Bristol lock Josh Caulfield sent off.
That necessitated a ten-minute blood-sub change, while the Australian native was also removed at half-time with Jack Aungier subbed on again.
However, he was good to go again in the 55th minute when Aungier needed some sideline repairs.
"Finlay (above) obviously from that boot to the face, he had a bit of interference with his vision from that but we took him off at half-time, more so as a precaution in case there was any significant damage done," added Wilkins.
"Hopefully they'll both be fighting fit and we wish them well going into camp and the Six Nations to come."
Wilkins will give his players a week off now as they regroup from a testing opening half of the season, which sees them sit ninth in the URC.
They next face Cardiff away on 17 February.
With a bonus-point win, @ConnachtRugby have done everything they can to qualify as they wait for other results to go their way...
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 19, 2024
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"I was really proud of the effort and I thought it was a good way to finish the pool stages at least, given what came before it," said Wilkins of the bonus-point win.
"As a club we are ambitious and we always strive for that. I'm pleased we are still in Europe.
"Although we had three losses to start the European campaign this year we were able to build each time and we learned something from it.
"Some of the time we just learned to take our medicine.
"We were poor against Bordeaux, against Saracens we learned a lot about our game management and against Lyon we learned a lot about the consistency in terms of what you need to be to be competing at Champions Cup level.
"Each one was an important stepping stone, although a bit painful at times.
"We were all really aware of how important today was in terms of the announcement [of Dexcom as stadium sponsors] and the excitement around that.
"We talk about fresh chapters at the club. Again this is another important building block in that. We knew we would have a terrific crowd here supporting us.
"I think it was appropriate that we not just capped it with a win but with a really sound performance as well."
Elsewhere, Leo Cullen said that out-half Harry Byrne, who limped off with an ankle injury during Leinster's 27-10 win over Leicester was "okay", while Munster confirmed that forward Tom Ahern (above), named in the extended Ireland panel for training ahead of the Six Nations, will spend the night in hospital after leaving their loss to Northampton on a cart following a knee to the head.
Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony is also to be assessed for "a couple of little bangs".
