ACT Brumbies winger Joe Tomane suffered "significant damage" to his knee and will be out of Super Rugby action until the June Test break, while co-captain Stephen Moore might not fly with the team to New Zealand on Wednesday morning.
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But even if Moore doesn't travel with the team due to his corked calf he could still play in the crucial clash against the Otago Highlanders at Invercargill on Saturday.
The loss of Tomane alone is a massive one - he's the Brumbies' leading try scorer (six) and has run in four tries in his past two outings, including a hat-trick against the NSW Waratahs.
He is also in doubt for the Wallabies three-Test series against England in June.
It means both of the Brumbies' first-choice flyers are out, with Henry Speight currently on duty with the Australian sevens team.
Throw in the potential loss of Moore on top of that and the Brumbies will be thankful Wallabies flanker David Pocock is returning from a three-week suspension.
That could see Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham reshuffle his back row, with Jarrad Butler potentially moving to No.8 in place of Jordan Smiler. Lock Blake Enever (AC joint) is also available for selection.
A decision on Moore will be made Wednesday morning and even if he doesn't fly he could still join the team later in the week.
"There's some significant damage there to his knee," Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said.
"[Moore] has got a bit of swelling in his calf. He got a ruck mark and it bled down into his calf and he's a bit sore ... travel is not ideal for corks."
The Brumbies have several options to replace Tomane, who hurt his knee when Canterbury Crusaders flanker Matt Todd hurdled the prone winger.
They clipped legs and Tomane unluckily damaged his right knee.
Nigel Ah Wong or James Dargaville look the likely replacement, having figured off the bench in the Crusaders game.
But Lausii Taliauli got the nod ahead of both of them in the Brumbies' semi-final loss to the Wellington Hurricanes in Wellington last year.
"They've all been pushing for a spot and realistically we're looking at the performances this afternoon to make a decision on Nigel or James Dargaville," Larkham said.
"[Tomane's] been outstanding. You look at his game on the weekend - superb in attack, defensively up against [Nemani] Nadolo, tried to put a number of shots on him, bounced off a couple of times but kept coming back at him.
"It was one of his better performances defensively as well. He's been on fire this year, it's been his best season by a long way.
"Yeah [it is a massive hit to the team] but it is an opportunity. I think particularly with Joe, the way he's been playing it's a little bit disappointing that it occurred the way it occurred."
The Brumbies face three huge games before their next bye - the reigning Super Rugby champions, the Highlanders, the Pretoria Bulls (home) and the Melbourne Rebels (away).
To beat the Highlanders they need to do what Australian sides have found almost impossible to do this season - beat a Kiwi side.
Aussie teams have won just two of their 12 games against New Zealand teams in 2016.
"They're probably a little more structured than most New Zealand sides. They're a very physical outfit and we'll address that today before we get out on the paddock," Larkham said.
"They kick the ball a lot and they've got really good kick chasers - [winger Patrick] Osborne and [fullback] Ben Smith in particular chase the contestable kicks really well.
"[Scrumhalf] Aaron Smith's a great controller around the ruck.
"It's a similar proposition every week - every New Zealand side you come up against is chock full of All Blacks and it's no different this week.
"They're a very physical side, they'll bring a hard edge to the game and we'll try and match that."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 10
Saturday: Otago Highlanders v ACT Brumbies at Invercargill, 5.35pm. Live on Fox Sports 2.
