Newport Gwent Dragons will be without captain Luke Charteris for the opening two rounds of the Amlin Challenge Cup as he struggles to overcome a wrist injury he picked up on International duty with Wales at the World Cup.
Charteris started six of Wales' seven games in New Zealand but returned to south Wales with the injury and has undergone a second scan to discover the full extent of the problem.
The Dragons have confirmed that he will miss their opening clashes away to Cavalieri Prato on Saturday and the game against Perpignan at Rodney Parade the following Thursday.
"Luke is going to be investigated again and we are waiting for the medical opinion on his wrist," said Dragons head coach Darren Edwards.
"The first advice we received was that it would be four to six weeks after the World Cup so hopefully he will just make the Australia game (Wales play Australia on December 3)."
