Munster will welcome back Ireland internationals Craig Casey and Jeremy Loughman to the fold for this weekend's BKT United Rugby Championship clash with the Bulls, but Diarmuid Barron, Alex Nankivell, Jack O'Donoghue and Mike Haley have been ruled out.
Both Casey and Loughman missed their opening round defeat to the Glasgow Warriors due to their stand down having been involved in Ireland's summer tests; but are set to return for the round two clash.
New signing Jack Aungier as well as Tom Ahern, Shane Daly and Ruadhán Quinn are also primed for their season debuts on Saturday having returned to full fitness.
There are injury concerns however with Mike Haley ruled out with a knee injury, while Diarmuid Barron, Alex Nankivell and Jack O'Donoghue will also miss the round two clash as they go through the return-to-play protocols.
Barron's injury will be of the biggest concern to Munster, who already have Lee Barron and Max Clein out of action. New man Marnus van der Merwe is likely to start, but his back-up is still to be determined.
Assistant coach Jared Payne said they will be taking a wait and see approach to the slot.
"There's a couple of guys working their way back. We'll see how they pull up after today", he said on Tuesday.
"We'll make a few decisions come Thursday.
"We've obviously got Manus who's still there. The other guys are working their way back. So, we'll make a decision on that come Thursday."
Despite the narrow 26-20 defeat last weekend, both Clayton McMillan and Jared Payne were happy with some of the more potent areas of Munster's performance.
The hosts raced into a 17-7 lead at the break, with both tries stemming from clever strike play moves, which Payne was brought in to implement.
This pleased the former Ireland international.
"There were some pleasing moments, there definitely was", Payne told reporters.
"As I say, I would have liked to get another score in that first half, I think we did have a bit of momentum and we needed to convert a few more points.
"But in general, there was a lot of good in that first half.
"Unfortunately, in the second half, we didn't get quite as many opportunities. As I say, they played very well but some good bits to look at to start with the first game."
Payne linked up with Mossy Lawler over the summer, with the Limerick man focusing on phase play attack. It's a tandem that the former Scarlets coach enjoys.
"It's been great. It was new for both of us at the start of the year, but it's been seamless", Payne added.
"Moss is a great guy, (with) good ideas. We both bounce a lot off each other so, I can't complain at all. Really enjoyed it.
"It's been nice for each of us to be able to spend a bit of time on our specific areas and then, as I say, bounce ideas off each other and go forward as a group."
