Ireland skipper Rory Best missed today's captain's run in Rome with a stomach bug but has not been ruled out of tomorrow's Six Nations clash with Italy.
The hooker has not been ruled out of tomorrow's Six Nations clash with Italy and the Ireland camp say they are hopeful the 101-cap forward will be fit to start.
Munster's Niall Scannell is named as the replacement hooker and would be in line for his first cap should Best be ruled out.
Leinster's James Tracy has been called into the squad as a potential replacement, should Best not recover in time.
Vice captain Jamie Heaslip would take the armband in Best's absence, but Ireland are clearly giving 34-year-old Best every chance of a recovery.
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"Rory has had a bit of a stomach upset overnight, he didn't sleep particularly well," said Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby.
"So we've left him to rest. You can't predict that, but we've left him back in the hotel when we did the team run.
"Hopefully he'll be okay with a bit of sleep and rest now. James Tracy will be joining the squad now.
"I think there's always things that crop up in the course of the week that you have to deal with.
"How we react and respond to it will hopefully allow us to continue the preparation as seamlessly as possible.
"We're confident that he will recover in time for tomorrow."
Ireland entered the Six Nations without 56-cap hooker Sean Cronin, the experienced Leinster man ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring problem.
That has opened the door for the uncapped Scannell to step up, and the 24-year-old from Munster remained an unused replacement in Scotland.
Leinster hooker Tracy made a try-scoring Test debut in Ireland's 52-21 victory over Canada in Dublin in November.
The 25-year-old was initially overlooked for selection for Ireland's Azzurri clash, but has been omitted from the Leinster squad to face Treviso in Italy on Sunday.
Captain's Run. #RBS6Nations in Rome #TeamOfUs #shouldertoshoulder pic.twitter.com/NetjpW53jB
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 10, 2017
Watch Ireland v Italy live on RTÉ2 from 1.30pm Saturday, listen live on Radio 1's Saturday Sport and follow our live blog on RTE.ie/the News Now app
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