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Ireland head coach Declan Kidney has braced his side for a gruelling autumn.
The Irish face South Africa, Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina on successive weekends at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as the countdown to the World Cup begins. Kidney named his 34-man squad for the series on Tuesday and decided to omit any injury doubts.
"It's going to be a demanding month for the squad and the first time we have played four games in the Guinness series," said Kidney. "We felt it was important to have at least 30 fit players to choose from in terms of setting the foundations for November."
He added: "It was better for those who picked up knocks to be assessed back in the provinces and when they have the all-clear, to come back into the squad.
"Jerry (Flannery) and Luke (Fitzgerald) are in that position, as are fellas like Tomas (O'Leary) and Leo (Cullen) who may well come back into the mix depending on their recoveries and game time that they may need to build up over the next couple of weeks.
"We need everybody in a position to be able to contribute in training and while we may well leave a window for those coming back, all the players in the squad deserve their chance."
Jerry Flannery's participation looks bleak after suffering a recurrence of the calf injury which has restricted him to a solitary appearance for Munster this season, Saturday's 45-18 victory over Toulon.
An update on Flannery is expected soon, but there is more positive news over fellow Lion Luke Fitzgerald. He damaged his hip during Leinster's 25-23 victory over Saracens and was also omitted from the squad, but Leinster revealed that he is expected to resume training on Thursday after an x-ray confirmed he had only suffered bruising.
Keith Earls, Rory Best, Stephen Ferris, Denis Leamy, Sean O'Brien and Donnacha Ryan return after missing the summer tour through injury. Best's fitness will prove crucial with Flannery's involvement looking very doubtful and only the inexperienced Sean Cronin and Damien Varley offering cover.
Leinster lock Leo Cullen and Munster scrum-half Tomas O'Leary will be examined again during the autumn as they continue their return from shoulder and thumb injuries.
