The Irish coaching staff insist that Brian O'Driscoll will be fit to face England despite missing training today with a stomach bug.
The same was said about Gordon D'Arcy, who coincedentally was suffering with the same ailment, in the build up to the opening Six Nations match against Scotland.
Defence coach Les Kiss revealed O'Driscoll's illness to the media at the squad's training camp this afternoon.
"Brian didn't run today, it's a slight little bug but he will be fine for Thursday. We're just managing it now, we expect him to be fully fine by Thursday. He's not feeling the best."
Isaac Boss is meeting all his return to play protocol markers and is still in contention for a place in the matchday squad that travels to Twickenham on Thursday ahead of Saturday's clash.
"He's actually flying through his markers which is a big plus. We don't expect any concerns. We'll get a little bit more information after this session we've had but we expect everything to be in a good place."
Kiss was also very positive when asked if Donnacha Ryan was on the verge of an international comeback after a sucessful return to the Munster fold following knee surgery.
"He's come in and he's trained the house down. It's something we have to consider without a doubt. Losing Dan Tuohy last week we've just got to look at what our stocks in that area. So it's timely for Donnacha to come back into the fray. Again, we will assess what we've looked at in the session and make a final decision overnight."
Joe Schmidt will name his team and matchday squad for the game in London at lunchtime this Thursday.
Image: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
