Connacht are still without Bundee Aki (knee) and Paul Boyle (shoulder/achilles) for their Heineken Champions Cup opener against Stade Francais at the Sportsground on Sunday.
Dylan Tierney-Martin faces hamstring scan and is a doubt. Denis Buckley, Tom Daly, Gavin Thornbury also still missing for the visit of the Top 14 side.
"It will take 23 to beat them at the weekend," said head coach Andy Friend. "We’ve addressed that."
The westerners are coming off a disappointing final 50 minutes against Leinster last Saturday night, having gone toe to toe with the URC champions at the RDS in the opening spell.
"We addressed it this morning. Coming out of that Leinster performance, there was a lot to like about what we did," said Friend.
"The key message was that when we went 14 points down, did we truly all believe? We still had 38 minutes left. So was the message out there did we have 38 minutes to get back in control of this. And I don’t think it was.
"That’s part of where we still need to grow as a group and continue to have that belief.
"Now you’re up against Leinster at the RDS. That’s a tough ask but never stop trying. Never stop fighting for that.
"So I do think in conversations we’ve had with players and coaches, we took a big learning from the weekend and we’ll be better for it."
Friend added: "The Leinster bench came on and had a real impact and upped the tempo again and we were guilty of not doing that. So it will be about the 23 on Sunday.
"They need to be all at their best if we do want to beat them. It’s so important not to give them the ‘ins’ at the set-piece. If we can do that, then play the rugby we know we can play, we can cause them some troubles.
Connacht have secured new deals for Ireland under-20 pair Jack Aungier and Oisin Dowling.
Tighthead prop Aungier joined Connacht in the summer of 2020 and has been a regular member of the matchday squad, making 20 appearances in total.
Dowling arrived that same summer and has made a similarly positive impression at the club, playing 12 times for the province so far.
The pair have both been capped at Ireland U20 level.
Friend reacted: “Both Jack and Oisin are key individuals in our long-term planning, so their re-signings are hugely important and significant for us as a team.
"Their respective games have improved since their arrival at Connacht, and they have shown that they have what it takes to play at the highest level.
"I’m delighted they have agreed to stay at Connacht. Our retention and recruitment is ongoing so we hope to share further news in the weeks ahead.”
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