The Western Force breathed a collective sigh of relief on Monday when scans revealed star back James O'Connor had not suffered a fractured finger.

O'Connor initially feared the worst after injuring the finger in his left hand during the Force's 22-10 loss to the Sharks on Saturday night.

But X-rays revealed no serious damage, leaving him free to play against the Reds in a fortnight, with the Force having a bye this week.

Flyhalf Matt Giteau (knee) and winger Drew Mitchell (ankle/knee) are also set to take their place in the must-win clash with the Reds despite copping heavy knocks to the leg against the Sharks.

Cameron Shepherd (ankle), No.8 Richard Brown (shoulder) and flanker Sam Wykes (shoulder) will also come into consideration after periods on the sidelines.

O'Connor has become somewhat of a Mr Fix-It man for the Force this season and the club is desperate to re-sign the fleet-footed utility.

The Force want to fast-track the 18-year-old's development so he can fill the boots of departing flyhalf Matt Giteau, who will return to the Brumbies next season.

But on Saturday night's performance against the Sharks, O'Connor's future may well lie at fullback.

With Shepherd out injured and Mitchell moved to the wing, O'Connor, who has played predominantly at inside centre, was thrust into the No.15 jersey and filled the role with aplomb.

Time and again he diffused dangerous high balls and long kicks, while he also sparked numerous attacking raids.

Amazingly, O'Connor achieved all this despite copping an errant knee to the head in the first half that left his vision blurred and almost had him throwing up on the ground.

"Midway through the first half I copped a knock to my head and my left eye was a bit blurry," O'Connor said.

"Second half I came out and was out on my feet.

"I was feeling nauseous.

"Midway through the second half I felt like spewing a lot."

O'Connor, whose two appearances for the Wallabies were both at fullback, said he enjoyed the position.

"I got a few more touches at 15 than I did at 12, so I enjoyed it a lot," he said.

"It was good, I felt like there was lots of space and felt real comfortable out there.

"I got a few opportunities to mix it up a little bit.

"I put a few high balls in, a couple of chips, had a few cracks, but just some unlucky bounces (stopped us from scoring)."

The Force, who sit five points adrift of the top four after snaring just two wins and a draw from their opening six games, must defeat the Reds to keep their finals aspirations alive.

"This bye will be good for a bit of team building ... there's a few must-win games to keep us alive," O'Connor said.

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