Harlequins coach John Kingston fears Keith Wood could be out of action for at least another month with his damaged calf.
Wood missed Ireland's opening Lloyds TSB Six Nations victory over Wales on Sunday and Kingston believes the Irish captain to be a major doubt for the game with England on February 16th.
Wood has been sidelined since playing Sale on December 15th and has been frustrated by the amount of time his calf has taken to heal.
And Kingston is now resigned to being without Wood until the Powergen Cup semi-final tie with London Irish on March 9th at the earliest.
"I can't see any way Keith will be playing for Ireland against England," he said after Harlequins' 31-13 defeat to Super 12 side Natal Sharks last night.
"A few weeks ago he was saying that he couldn't go into an international match without playing a league game first and that was with six weeks out.
"I'd say, as we stand, he wouldn't be available for the Gloucester game.
"We are probably looking at the cup tie as a target now."
Meanwhile, Welsh captain Scott Quinnell has offered under-fire Wales coach Graham Henry his total backing.
Welsh rugby officials meet in Cardiff tomorrow, with Wales' humiliating 54-10 defeat at Lansdowne Road high on their agenda.
Henry has faced calls for his resignation, notably from Welsh Rugby Union vice-chairman Les Williams, but Wales captain Quinnell today gave the New Zealander a resounding vote of confidence.
"Graham is a tremendous guy and a tremendous character, and hopefully what happened in Dublin on Sunday can bring out the best in us all," Quinnell said.
"Everyone is 110 per cent behind Graham. As players, we are very fortunate to be playing for Wales, but we let ourselves and the public down last Sunday.
"Now, we have got to pick ourselves up and show what we can do, starting against France next week."