Blues and All Blacks star Rieko Ioane is set to miss this weekend's Waratahs clash with a broken hand.
Ioane suffered the injury n the Auckland side's 39-27 loss to the Chiefs last Friday night, ruling him out for "several weeks", a Blues statement read.
It's a big blow for the Kiwi side who will face a NSW outfit with some damaging outside backs in their numbers, including rookie Mark Nawaqanitawase.
The Blues are also set to be without hooker Ray Niuia whose season is over after a serious knee injury, and prop Alex Hodgman (calf).
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Waratahs winger Alex Newsome said the Blues would pose a big test for the NSW side.
"The Blues are a talented team, they've got a lot of individuals that can do exciting things so that's something we've got to be aware of," he said.
"All these Kiwi sides, you've got to watch them -Blues haven't had that much joy over the past couple of years but I think they're one of the teams on the way up so it's certainly going to be a challenge for us this week."
The Waratahs have some injury question marks of their own with the availability of flyhalf Mack Mason (groin) and backrower Ned Hanigan (concussion) still unclear after they missed last week's opener against the Crusaders.
The Waratahs take on the Blues at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday February 8, kicking off at 7:15pm AEDT, LIVE on FOX SPORTS, Kayo and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Buy tickets here.
