Stade Francais' Shaun Sowerby will play no part in the Heineken Cup Pool stage after seriously injuring his ankle in the French Championship last weekend.
The influential number eight has been ruled out for four months, meaning he will be sidelined for the duration of the Pool stage.
The former Springbok broke his ankle in Saturday's Top-14 clash with Biarritz, and will miss all of Stade's Pool matches, after undergoing surgery on Sunday.
The Pool 3 side, who lead the championship by 11 points from Clermont, now have real problems in the back row, with Pierre Rabadan and Antoine Burban are also out injured while French international Remy Martin is suspended
Stade open their Heineken Cup campaign with a trip to Calvisano on Saturday, before hosting the Ospreys on the 28th October.