Andrew Porter remains a doubt for Leinster's Investec Champions Cup quarter-final against Sale Sharks on Saturday.
The loosehead prop departed Sunday's 49-31 win against Edinburgh at half time, with Leo Cullen suggesting the 30-year-old had suffered a shoulder or pec injury.
The province’s squad update on Tuesday said the player is "is due to be further assessed and a decision on his availability will be made later in the week."
Speaking immediately after Sunday's win, Cullen said he was hopeful the injury was "not too bad", but scrum and forwards coach Robin McBryde was reluctant to offer any further detail on the player’s status this afternoon.
"No, he’s being assessed," McBryde replied, when asked if there was any additional information he could offer on Porter’s chances of being fit for this week.
The Welshman was also asked if he was "confident" Porter would be available for the visit of the Premiership side, with an equally short answer: "We’ll see how he is after he’s been assessed".
With Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle both likely out for the rest of the season, the province are already stretched at loosehead prop, and if Porter were to be unavailable this week it would leave Alex Usanov and Jerry Cahir as the two remaining candidates for the number 1 shirt.
Twenty-year-old Usanov (below) has played five times in his debut season for the province, and made his first Champions Cup appearance off the bench in Saturday’s win, while Cahir was recruited from AIL side Lansdowne this season, featuring 10 times.
McBryde is backing the pair to step in this week, if required.
"Alex, his development has rocketed really. It's always interesting to see young men of that age, when they're given an opportunity, how quickly they accelerate and Alex has developed really well.
"So has Jerry. He's been great to have the environment, a breath of fresh air coming from a different background.
"So I've enjoyed working with both of them, they've really become part of the squad. If their services are needed, I've got the utmost confidence in both of them."
Opponents Sale are also facing a front row shortage ahead of their trip to Dublin.
Alex Sanderson’s side will be without British and Irish Lion hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and England international loosehead prop Bevan Rodd due to injury.
Both players are likely to miss the rest of the club season, with Cowan-Dickie (below) going for surgery on a broken arm, while Rodd has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign due to a dislocated shoulder.
Both players picked up their injuries in Saturday’s 26-17 win away to Harlequins.
Cowan-Dickie's likely replacement, Nathan Jibulu, is also unavailable after he was suspended for six weeks for an alleged bite in Saturday’s win.
The 23-year-old appeared before an independent disciplinary hearing this evening, after a citing complaint by Quins that he bit their prop Will Hobson in a ruck in the 69th minute.
"I don't think it's going to change their DNA," McBryde said of their opponents’ injuries.
"I think they've gone on record with regards to being comfortable with their DNA, so listen, it's going to be setpiece orientated, they've got a very strong scrum, a very strong maul.
"They showed that against the Harlequins last weekend. So I think they're definitely going to try and test us out in those areas."
And the Leinster assistant is expecting Saturday’s quarter-final to be a far different kind of game to the chaotic Round of 16 win against Edinburgh on Sunday.
"When you've got nothing to lose, you tend to chance your arm a little bit more, so they [Edinburgh] definitely did that and they had a benefit from it as well with the intercepts, tries, etc.
"I think it'll be different this week, as we saw against Harlequins, that [Sale] mentality, that championship mentality with George Ford, kicking the points; three, six, nine.
"Our discipline is going to be very important. But there were plenty of positives from last week," he said.
Second row James Ryan and centre Garry Ringrose are also still being assessed as they look to return from injury on Saturday.
Ryan has missed the last four games for club and country with a calf issue, while Ringrose picked up a knock late in Leinster’s win against the Scarlets at the end of March.
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