Finlay Bealham is part of the Connacht squad for their trip to South Africa but fellow Ireland internationals Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki are not fit to travel.
Tighthead prop Bealham played in four of Ireland's World Cup games and is now back in contention for BKT United Rugby Championship games against the Sharks (Saturday 3pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) and the Bulls over the next two weeks.
Centre Aki, Ireland’s player of the tournament, and wing Hansen, are recovering from hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively, after both playing in all five of Ireland’s matches in France.
"Bundee and Mack are still rehabbing knocks that they brought home from the World Cup," head coach Pete Wilkins told RTÉ Sport.
"Mack hopefully will be available after this South Africa trip; Bundee probably a couple of weeks after that so they are not far away but they do need these three or four weeks to get their bodies right and as soon as they are right we look forward to welcoming them back.
"[Bundee’s] had an ongoing hamstring issue that he’s had to manage but particularly with the exertions of the World Cup and this window after the World Cup that he needed to rest anyway, it’s a good time to try and get that right and get it as good as possible for the season to come."
Meanwhile, prop Jack Aungier will also recuperate at home following a head injury during the defeat to Edinburgh, Connacht's first defeat of the season, on Saturday night.
"Jack left the pitch for a HIA [head injury assessment] on Saturday night. That rules him out of this.
"He’ll do the HIA3 today and if he passes that, in theory, he could be available for selection for the weekend but we’d be taking him [while] waiting for an official sign-off later in the week so for Jack’s wellbeing and the certainty around our squad we’ll leave him behind to freshen up.
"We’ve got Leinster on our return on a short turnaround so having a few of those bodies back here recharging probably isn’t a bad thing either."
A last-gasp Edinburgh drop goal by former Munster out-half Ben Healy (below) ended Connacht’s three-game winning streak.
The westerners looked to have done enough to secure a draw when Cian Prendergast crossed for a converted try with five minutes to play.
However, Connacht were unable to clear their lines and the hosts took advantage to snatch victory.
Wilkins said he didn’t feel that the team deserved a dressing down in the immediate aftermath of the 25-22 defeat.
"In a general sense there’s certainly a time and a place for doing that [having harsh words] and it depends on the context of the performance, whether that’s half-time or full-time," said the 44-year-old, who takes a panel of 29 to South Africa.
"It certainly has to be in your armoury.
"For us on Saturday in Edinburgh, that wasn’t the case.
"It was looking really carefully at why we were in the fight, why we kept getting ourselves back into the fight and made it such a close game. And, I suppose, acknowledging that so we can repeat that but at the same time looking at the way we ultimately didn’t deliver.
"It could have been a draw with a few minutes to go and if we’d done a couple of things better earlier in the game it’s a game we could have won as well.
"If you turn up for a game like that and you lack the physically or the intensity or you don’t see players working hard enough, mindsets aren’t right, I think that’s the time and place to really let players know but that wasn’t the case for us at the weekend.
"There were some inaccuracies that cost us and that gave Edinburgh the foothold and one opportunity too many at the end."
On the task facing Connacht in the shape of the Sharks, who lost four from four on their tour or Europe, and the Bulls, who top the table, Wilkins (above) said: "They'll be two very challenging games in terms of the physicality and the conditions we’ll play in, but the way our rugby is progressing, we’d be confident that we can give them both a really good game.
"If we can get everything right on the night, I think we can assert our game on them.
"So, it’s a good chance in terms of the rugby piece, it’s also a good chance to take 29 guys away and get all of the cohesion and the cultural side that comes with that, [while] acknowledging that there’s a really important part of our group left behind in Galway as well."
Connacht squad:
Forwards (17)
Finlay Bealham, Denis Buckley, Peter Dooley, Oisín Dowling, Dave Heffernan, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sam Illo, Sean Jansen, Joe Joyce, Tadgh McElroy, Darragh Murray, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Sean O'Brien, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Cian Prendergast, Dylan Tierney-Martin
Backs (12)
Caolin Blade, Jack Carty, Tom Farrell, Cathal Fordem, JJ Hanrahan, David Hawkshaw, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Tiernan O’Halloran, John Porch, Byron Ralston, Colm Reilly, Andrew Smith.
Watch highlights of the weekend's action on Against the Head on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player tonight at 8pm
Watch Sharks v Connacht in the URC on Saturday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
