Joe Schmidt seemed more hopeful than confident when asked if Paul O'Connell would be back for Saturday's Six Nations clash with Wales.
The skipper missed the win over Scotland after being struck down with a chest infection overnight and Schmidt revealed that he only found out several hours before kick-off.
"I got the call at 8 o'clock this morning from the doc, to say he'd been back in to see him at 4:30 in the morning and his chest infection was bad. He hadn't slept so there's no way you can play a test match if you haven't had that sleep."
Ulster lock Dan Tuohy came to the rescue had a decent performance in the second row alongside Devin Toner but how did Schmidt rate O'Connell's chances of returning to action ahead of the Welsh clash this weekend?
"I'd be really surprised if he's not (back for next weekend). He should be back by Tuesday, if not training fully, certainly feeling better. I'd say he will be able to fully train on Thursday. I would be really confident of that."
The squad looks in rude health though with all of the 23 players coming through the first Championship match without any major knocks.
Luke Fitzgerald is expected to be okay after a hip problem restricted him last week but when asked if Gordon D'Arcy would be over his stomach bug, Schmidt was non-committal.
When pushed and asked if D'Arcy's experience would be needed against the Welsh, the Kiwi instead chose to praise his replacement at inside centre. "I'm not sure if you saw it but Luke Marshall did a smashing turnover tackle there at one stage. He's a physical kid and he's working really hard as well. I think he's left us with a tough decision either way."
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