The England centre suffered a side strain in training yesterday and joins Brad Shields (hip) and Joe Cokanasiga (knee) on the sidelines.
But boss Eddie Jones will keep the crocked trio in his Portugal camp as he sends the likes of Jonathan Joseph, Ben Moon and Dan Cole, amongst others, home tonight.
Asked if the Te'o bombshell had disrupted England's plans, coach Neal Hatley said: "Not massively. We've had people running in different positions. We're pretty good at that, we make sure we comprehensively cover all permutations.
"It's not like Ben is the only player who has run at 12 for us. We've tried different people in there making sure that if something like this comes up, there are contingencies in place. It's not as big as you would think.
"With Ben it was a small side strain just in training – it was fairly innocuous. It was just in normal game training. I've just walked past him now and he's not far away. For this type of game we need everyone 100 per cent.
"Brad, Joe and Ben are staying with us. They're not far away from where we want them to be. But obviously a game of this magnitude we need everyone 100 per cent, so they're going to stay with us and continue to rehab. The plan is to have them all fit for France."
Just last week Te'o spoke about how much he was loving being injury free after a horrific quad muscle tear.
FOOD COURT Lawes eating whatever he likes without piling on pounds… and even has a giant freezer outside his room to keep him fuelled up
The 32-year-old said: "I feel great. I feel fit. I’m mentally refreshed and enjoying my rugby. My body is 100 per cent now. It was great to get through that autumn and play some big Test matches against some great teams. I’ve played four games for Worcester recently and I just feel fit.
"I can see my year playing out – hopefully play in the Six Nations and every game every week until the end of the season. That’s how I see it happening.
"I had a tough period there where I had back-to-back injuries. Usually I’m pretty robust. I’ve played a lot of football in my time and sometimes you just have a few hiccups and things creep up on you. You’ve just got to get through it, get healthy again and get back playing, then work your way through it. I feel great now."
With the Worcester Warriors ace gone, it opens the door for Leicester Tigers star Manu Tuilagi to make his first Six Nations start since 2013.
Tuilagi made his comeback from a nightmare injury run in the autumn and has been in devastating form for his Gallagher Premiership side.
And Hatley added: "Manu's been looking brilliant. You've seen some of his Champions Cup performances – for example against Scarlets at Welford Road. Manu's just got better and better and better as he's put games together.
ENGLAND RETAINED SQUAD TO FACE IRELAND
Forwards
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs), Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
Backs
Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens) captain, George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Dan Robson (Wasps), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
"He's trained exceptionally well in the midfield for us. He's in a really good space. I read an article put out by George Ford, in which he was feeding back on Manu's club form and saying how's starting to transfer.
"He's a physical player and guys like playing alongside blokes like that. He definitely has a positive effect. Ben Te'o does the same thing for us, he's a big, imposing player and having them has a positive effect. It's like having Mako Vunipola back – he brings a different element to how the team feels and plays."
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