Ireland will be without key trio Caelan Doris, Rónan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong for their Six Nations clash with Wales on Saturday as they continue to recover from their respective injuries.
Captain Doris is suffering from a knee injury and his absence will bring an end to his run of appearing in Ireland's last 42 Test matches, a sequence that stretches back to the 2021 Six Nations.
Kelleher will be absent due to a neck issue. Furlong missed Ireland's wins over England and Scotland.
"We're hoping they'll be available for France, they're just going through their processes they do with the physios, but they're all making good progress," Ireland attack coach Andrew Goodman told reporters.
Asked who might captain Ireland against Wales in Doris' absence, Goodman said: "There's some good leaders in the squad.
"The leadership group has been growing well over the past couple of years and there's a number of players who have captained their provinces, so we have some good options there."
Ireland, seeking to become the first side to win three successive titles outright, face trips to lowly Wales and Italy either side of a potentially crucial home game against France on March 8.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report
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