Injured Payne unlikely to face England
Jared Payne appears increasingly unlikely to face England in Saturday's RBS 6 Nations encounter at Twickenham after missing training on Tuesday.
Ireland remain "hopeful" Ulster centre Payne can still beat his hamstring problem in time to start the clash in London, but the 30-year-old must prove his readiness on Thursday.
Head coach Joe Schmidt would typically demand that Ireland's players prove their fitness on the Tuesday ahead of a Saturday Test match.
The Ireland boss broke that self-imposed protocol for the first time ahead of the 10-9 defeat to France, waiting on Simon Zebo and Keith Earls, and could yet follow suit for the England clash, given his high regard for Payne's defensive qualities.
"Everyone trained fully today apart from Jared Payne," said Ireland's forwards coach Simon Easterby.
"He trained probably 85 to 90 per cent yesterday and ran well, but today he's going to do some work with the physios and continue that, and we'll give him until Thursday to prove his fitness."
Ireland initially thought Payne had suffered a dead leg in the France defeat on Saturday, February 13, but the issue was later revealed as a hamstring injury.
Earls, Stuart McCloskey and Luke Marshall will all fight to slot into the centres in case Payne fails to make the fitness grade.