Tadhg Furlong is expected to be fit to start for Ireland against South Africa at the start of the Autumn Series on Saturday week.
Leo Cullen believes Furlong will be OK after he rolled his ankle in the build-up to last weekend's win over Munster, but the Leinster boss cautioned that he was not privy to how the star tighthead will go in training over the next couple of weeks.
"That’s crystal ball stuff," he said. "We thought he was going to be fine last week, he rolled his ankle on Thursday, on Friday we thought he’d be OK.
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"I said to Tadhg on Friday we were happy to make the call at that point and he was keen to give it another day.
"On Saturday he was doing his single leg hops to test his ankle joint and he said he still felt a little bit of swelling, and he made the call.
"That’s where we’ve left it, he’s in camp this week. I would expect him to be able to train fully, so we didn’t take the chance of him playing a game.
"Does he get through all the training, there are other steps that I’m not even going to be witnessing what’s going on there but I don’t know. The way I understand it, he should be fine."
Similarly, Cullen is hopeful that Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park - who haven't played this season - and Josh van der Flier will be OK for the November internationals - or, at least, for some of them.
Ryan Baird has come through his graduated return to play protocols and can train fully with Andy Farrell's squad this week.
"It's case by case," he said. "Jamison is getting very close but, again, that’s their call and what they’re willing to do, what they see at training.
"They’ll all be very close. But that’s their call on what they’re willing to do. Whether they make it or not, I don’t know.”
Meanwhile, Ireland prop John Ryan is back with Munster as short term injury cover while Irish-qualified centre Oli Morris has joined the Reds until the summer.
Ryan's return on a three-month deal follows his brief time with Wasps, which ended after the club was placed into administration last week.
Reds boss Graham Rowntree admitted after Saturday's URC loss that he would look at the possibility of making signings given the province's casualty list, and Ryan bolsters a front row that has injuries piling up, with Stephen Archer (ankle) and Keynan Knox (ribs) of most concern.
Like Ryan, Morris became a free agent when Worcester Warriors went into administration at the end of September.
The 23-year-old was identified by Irish Rugby’s IQ programme and was involved with the Ireland U20s in 2019. He will link up with the squad this week.
Future Test lock Tom Ahern has signed a two year contract extension with the Reds, along with Calvin Nash - who has received his first senior Ireland call-up for the Autumn series - and Fineen Wycherley, who has already made his Ireland debut.
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