Furlong is understood to be struggling with injury, and as such, the Wexford native may be forced to miss the sold-out showdown in Dublin.
If Furlong is ruled out, Andy Farrell, who names his team at 2pm on Wednesday, will look to Connacht prop Finlay Bealham, which would mean a promotion to the bench for Ulster’s Tom O’Toole.
With the All Blacks expected to recall loosehead Ethan de Groot after he sat out last weekend’s win over England due to disciplinary reasons, losing Furlong would be an obvious blow to Ireland’s hopes of beating the Kiwis on home soil for a third time.
Farrell already had front-row concerns with first-choice hooker Dan Sheehan ruled out, while Rónan Kelleher hasn’t played since October 5 due to an ankle injury.
However, Kelleher is said to be winning his race to recover in time, which would be a huge boost, especially if Furlong misses out.
Elsewhere in the pack, Tadhg Beirne could continue in the same back-row that beat South Africa in Ireland’s previous outing in July, as Josh van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris are set to remain in situ, while Andrew Porter will be at loosehead, with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan in the second-row.
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park and full-back Hugo Keenan are likely to be recalled having missed the summer tour to South Africa.
Gibson-Park should partner Jack Crowley at half-back, while Bundee Aki is battling it out with Robbie Henshaw and Jamie Osborne for a place in midfield alongside Garry Ringrose.
James Lowe will continue in the back-three, as Keenan looks to nudge Osborne out of the No 15 jersey, while the fit-again Mack Hansen is hoping to reclaim his spot on the right wing ahead of Calvin Nash.
New Zealand boss Scott Robertson will name his team at 4pm on Wednesday, with Damian McKenzie in line to start at out-half, and Asafo Aumua at hooker in place of injured duo Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor.
Possible Ireland team (to play New Zealand on Friday)
H Keenan; M Hansen, G Ringrose, B Aki, J Lowe; J Crowley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, F Bealham; J McCarthy, J Ryan; T Beirne, J van der Flier, C Doris (capt). Reps: R Herring, C Healy, T O’Toole, R Baird, P O’Mahony, C Murray/C Casey, C Frawley, R Henshaw/J Osborne.
