Wales prop Dillon Lewis looks unlikely to play any rugby before the Six Nations in a fresh blow to Warren Gatland.
Cardiff boss David Young had originally appeared optimistic that the Wales tight-head might feature in the January 21 clash with Brive, with the following fixture against Leinster on January 28 another option.
However, it would now appear that even the clash against the Irish province might be too soon for Lewis to return from a knee injury - with Wales facing Ireland in Cardiff in their Six Nations opener the week after.
Lewis has emerged as an important figure for Wales, starting seven of the last eight Tests under Wayne Pivac. So the most recent injury bulletin about him from Cardiff doesn't make great reading for Gatland.
"Dillon is still braced up," said Young. "He's a good bit off. "The best picture for Dillon is that he plays against Leinster at the end of this block. But realistically that'll be too early for him.
"He's not in the latter stages of rehab yet and that'll determine whether he kicks on really quickly or at a steady pace. If it's not the last game of this block, it'll be the middle of the Six Nations block."
Josh Navidi has returned to training with Cardiff this week, which spells good news. However, the back-rower would still appear to be a long shot to make Gatland's squad, with Young not expecting the Lions tourist to return to action for at least another three weeks.
That adds to Cardiff's injury woes, with in-form hooker Liam Belcher and Theo Cabango sidelined for this weekend's derby against the Scarlets at the Arms Park.
Young has been handed a boost though with tight-head prop Dimitri Arhip and Wales duo James Botham and Rhys Priestland set to be fit for the visit of Dwayne Peel's side.
Navidi hasn't been seen since the final Test against South Africa last summer, when he sustained a 'neurological neck injury'. He's back in training ahead of a possible return later this month.
"Josh is back in training this week, no contact," added Young. "If he comes through the next fortnight to three weeks of training, as we get them back in quite early to be in with skills around the unit, maybe he'll do a little bit of contact next week then the week after could more or less be contact.
"It could be three to four weeks off playing if everything goes to plan."
The injury to Belcher will come as a blow to Young, given how well the hooker has played. As is the shoulder injury to winger Cabango, with the Cardiff boss admitting it will need surgery between now and the end of the season.
But the returns of Botham, Priestland and Arhip come as a timely boost ahead of the third and final derby in this festive block for Young's side.
"I've always been a big believer in consistency, but you've got to look after players if they've got bumps and bruises," said Young.
"Liam is a neck injury. He hyperextended in a scrum. He's seen a neck specialist. He doesn't need an operation as there's nothing structural.
"They're going to inject one of his discs to settle it down as it's a bit inflamed. There's nothing to worry about as he has no symptoms and he's not got pins or needles. He'll probably be a week or two before he's back ready.
"Jim Botham has come through the early part of the week so he's available for selection. He'd done his elbow which was braced for a bit. It was quite nasty but he's back this week. He was doing no-contact training last week but he's through that now.
"Theo definitely has a shoulder injury and the likelihood is he'll need an intervention on that. He'll still go through that process with the consultant over whether they rehab it and see how it goes for a couple of weeks or they do it straight away.
"But he'll need something done before the end of the season. It's just whether it's now or later. That's the call to make. He had a partial dislocation of the shoulder, but everything went back in. It's about whether it's likely to dislocate again or if it's stable."
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