Simon Easterby has eased fears that Caelan Doris is an injury doubt for Ireland's Guinness Six Nations meeting with Wales on Saturday.
The Leinster number 8, who captained Ireland in the Round 2 win over Italy, sat out this morning's squad training session at the IRFU high performance centre in Dublin.
"Caelan didn't train and that was the plan at the beginning of the week, just to manage him," said Ireland defence coach Easterby.
"But we’re expecting him to train fully tomorrow, so there should be no issue with Caelan."
The Ireland defence coach said his absence is a result of wear and tear rather than any specific issue.
"He is probably carrying a few [injuries], but more bumps and bruises. I guess he took a few hits against Italy and he’s in a good place but he needs to be managed in a couple of areas," added Easterby, who expects him to be "fully fit for the weekend".
It looks increasingly likely that Hugo Keenan will miss Saturday's visit of the Welsh.
The full-back, who suffered a knee injury in the win over Italy, was present at training this morning but once again sat out the session.
"Hugo has been such a massive part of this group since he first made his debut a few years ago, so it’s important that we give him the opportunity to prove his fitness, but we are really excited as well about the opportunities that might present if he doesn’t make it.
"We feel really excited about what’s to come in and the opportunities that other guys will get to step up."
Ciarán Frawley (above) looks most likely to start at full-back in Keenan's absence, and Easterby says they would have full confidence throwing him in for a first Test start.
"Frawls is really confident and he will often cover more than one position - 15, 10, 12. Someone like that has to be really competent and he is. He is giving guys a lot of confidence in the back and he's got a real good way about him. He is quite unassuming but he's really confident and he is composed.
"He's really thriving in that position and he's a player that has been on the radar for a while. Opportunities have maybe been a bit short for him in terms of his position at Leinster, being moved around a little bit, but he certainly is a player we would really be keen and excited about seeing at 15."
Ireland are due to name their team on Thursday afternoon, with Iain Henderson also likely to miss out after picking up a foot injury on Sunday in Ulster's defeat to the Ospreys in Wales.
"He [Henderson] played on the weekend against the Ospreys so he is still being assessed for a foot injury. We're leaving him a little bit of time. Those injuries take a bit longer to settle down and the assessment will probably be done with the other guys tomorrow.
"For someone like Caelan in particular, you wouldn’t want to leave it too late, you’d also want to make sure you give the guys that potentially do start the opportunity to get time in the saddle, it’s important that we grow the squad and grow the experience that the guys have and that’s the case for Caelan’s position and Hugo’s."
In more positive news, Garry Ringrose (above) is on track to return for his first appearance of the championship.
The centre missed the opening wins with a shoulder injury.
"Garry has obviously missed the first couple of weeks and I think it was the right thing to do for him to make sure he gets that shoulder right but he's in a really good place.
"We're really fortunate with the guys we have in that midfield. I thought Stu was excellent on the weekend against Italy. It's a really competitive position with Robbie, Bundee, Stu, and Garry in there.
"It's positive we've got those guys firing and it will be important not just this weekend but on into England and Scotland that we've got a full deck to choose from," Easterby added.
Watch Ireland v Wales in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
