All Blacks captain Sam Cane said there is no pressure on Will Jordan, David Havili and Jack Goodhue to return for Saturday's second Test against Ireland after all three missed the series opener due to COVID-19.
The trio were absent for the hosts' 42-19 win over the Irish in Auckland last weekend but trained on Tuesday ahead of the second match in the three-Test series in Dunedin.
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"There is absolutely no pressure from players, management, coaches or anyone for them to rush back," Cane said.
"They were on a bike yesterday with some sort of heart-rate monitor measuring how they respond to exercise.
"So all the precautions are being taken there. The last thing anyone would want is to risk them getting long COVID.
"There's no pressure and they'll have a few boxes to tick during the week to even be available I think."
The All Blacks camp was hit by the COVID outbreak in the build-up to the first Test, with coach Ian Foster among those to test positive.
Forward Sam Whitelock has already been ruled out of the second test with a self-reported concussion while fellow lock Tupou Vaa'i will miss the game after a positive COVID test.
"Sammy was awesome at the weekend and became the second most capped All Black of all time, which is hugely impressive," said captain Sam Cane.
"We'll no doubt miss his leadership and what he brings, and then Tupou had been playing well all Super Rugby and was hanging out for his opportunity, so it's a tough pill for him to swallow."
