Wales coach Warren Gatland will name his team on Friday for the Aviva Stadium clash, with Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees, Lloyd Burns, Luke Charteris and Alun-Wyn Jones confirmed non-starters.
And the situation could yet deteriorate from a fitness perspective, as centre Jamie Roberts (knee), fly-half Rhys Priestland (knee) and flanker Dan Lydiate (ankle) are all racing against time.
Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins said: "They are progressing, but how quickly we are not too sure. We will give them as much time as possible.
"We are hopeful of all the injured players recovering, but whether they make it is a matter of time.
"It is always a blow if you lose some of your best players, but we are quite lucky in what we have got.
"We would not have to make too much of an adjustment, but if you lose some of the players who have played as well as they have for us, it can be a bit of a blow.
"The other side of the coin is that it is an opportunity for other boys, and they would relish the opportunity to show what they were all about."
It is thought uncapped 21-year-old Ospreys centre Ashley Beck has a strong chance of replacing Roberts, with James Hook the probable alternative to Priestland and Ryan Jones expected to feature in the back row if Lydiate is sidelined.
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