Clean bill of health no more.

Schmidt’s back-row selection for this weekend’s Guinness Series opener has become a lot clearer, with Tommy O’Donnell, Dan Leavy and Jack Conan all sitting out training.

The biggest concern of the three is Munster’s Tommy O’Donnell, who picked up a shoulder injury in training at Carton House yesterday, and now faces a scan to uncover the full extent of the injury.

Conan was given the morning off due to a ‘heavy workload’, while Leinster teammate Dan Leavy was suffering with some tightness in his hamstring.

“It’s just management at this stage,” Simon Easterby explained.

“It would be nice if you had a clean bill of health and you’ve got everyone available to train but we know that’s not always the case.

“It’s just about being sensible and earmarking players who may have potential weaknesses. If you know about things, at least you can prepare for that and not take any unnecessary risks.”

Schmidt’s likely back-row will be Lions trio Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien and CJ Stander, with the in-form Rhys Ruddock set to miss out on a spot in the starting line-up after captaining Ireland over the summer.