Rory Best must shake off a stomach bug if he is to face Italy in Rome on Saturday. The hooker missed the captain’s run at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday, instead remaining at Ireland’s team hotel.

Munster’s uncapped hooker Niall Scannell will start should Best fail to recover, with Leinster’s James Tracy joining the squad. Ireland remain confident Best will be fit to start but may leave a decision until Saturday morning.

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“Rory has had a bit of a stomach upset overnight, he didn’t sleep particularly well,” the forwards coach, Simon Easterby, said. “So we’ve left him to rest. You can’t predict that but we’ve left him back in the hotel when we did the team run. Hopefully he’ll be OK with a bit of sleep.

“I think there’s always things that crop up in the course of the week that you have to deal with. How we react and respond to it will hopefully allow us to continue the preparation as seamlessly as possible. We’re confident that he will recover in time.”

Ireland may have to hunt for their first Six Nations win of the campaign without their 101-cap captain. Joe Schmidt’s men lost 27-22 in Scotland last Saturday and only victory in Rome will realistically keep their title chances alive. Jamie Heaslip, the vice‑captain, would take the armband in Best’s absence but Ireland are giving the 34-year-old every chance to recover.

Ireland entered the Six Nations without the 56-cap hooker Sean Cronin – the Leinster player was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring problem. That has opened the door for the uncapped Scannell to step up and the 24-year-old from Munster was an unused replacement in Scotland.

Tracy made a try-scoring Test debut in Ireland’s 52-21 win against Canada in Dublin in November. The Leinster hooker was initially overlooked for selection but was later omitted from the Leinster squad to face Treviso in Italy on Sunday.

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“Niall Scannell would start if Rory doesn’t recover – he’s been with us longer than James this week,” Easterby said. “If Rory doesn’t come through then James Tracy will join us. We’re really confident Niall can step up if asked. He wouldn’t be in the squad if we didn’t feel confident he can transfer some really good form from Munster, especially in the European Cup.”

Sergio Parisse said Italy will need another “miracle” victory rivalling November’s South Africa triumph to topple Ireland. Conor O’Shea’s side slumped to a 33-7 home defeat to Wales last weekend and Parisse expects an even tougher challenge from the Irish.

“Beating South Africa with the system we have in the country at the moment was a miracle but it was possible because of the commitment of the players and the staff who believe in us,” Parisse said.

“I think Ireland are better than Wales, so it’s going to be extremely difficult. We know Ireland will want to keep the ball in play and try to score more than four tries. We know the size of the challenge.”

The 33-year-old added: “I find in Conor a coach who has the same vision as me and it’s an honour to work with him. When he arrived in Italy it was very good news from my point of view. I don’t know how long I will keep playing, maybe one, two, three years.”