It will be a bonus for Munster if Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Conway return in time for the Champions Cup quarter-final clash with Toulouse.
Reds defence coach JP Ferreira says that as of now the province is planning without the Ireland pair for the Aviva stadium encounter against the reigning champions on Saturday week.
Munster are already without first choice loosehead Dave Kilcoyne, who has been ruled out for four months - including Ireland's summer tour to New Zealand - following neck surgery.
"At this stage they're still busy with their rehab, and training hard, so we'll have to wait and see in that week," said Ferreira of Beirne (thigh) and Conway (knee).
"Currently, it's still the same, we go ahead as if they're not going to be available.
"If they are available, then excellent, but we'll wait on our medics next week to see who is available.
"We'll wait on them next week and see if they're available or not, but at the moment they're not."
Dynamic flanker John Hodnett is another who could miss out on the Toulouse game as he is awaiting specialist opinion on the knee injury sustained in Friday's URC victory at Ulster last Friday.
Chris Cloete, another flanker, suffered a neck and head injury at Kingspan Stadium and will undergo return to play protocols, leaving him unlikely to be available for Friday's home clash with Cardiff Blues.
In better news for the province, skipper Peter O'Mahony has returned to full training while Niall Scannell is on course for a return for the Toulouse clash - or perhaps even this weekend.
Ferreira adds that from this weekend on every game is a must-win for the Reds, including the rescheduled final URC regular season game against Leinster that is coming up.
"Must-win, definitely," he stressed. "We've got the same mindset that we had since we played Exeter in the round of 16 (in the Champions Cup).
"Our mindset hasn't changed in that sense, every game is a knockout for us now. We're getting to the end of the season, and it's must-wins.
"We take it like that. It doesn't matter what the opposition, it's the next game.
"The URC is so close now, the South African teams are doing so well, getting bonus point wins and putting themselves up there.
"It's all to play for in the next two rounds."
