The Ospreys will be without captain Justin Tipuric in the final weeks of the season as they bid to secure Champions Cup rugby for next season.
Toby Booth's side currently sit four points behind Cardiff with two games left - meaning that, with a Judgement Day clash between the two sides on the final day of their season on April 22, the Welsh Shield and entry into European rugby's top tier could come down to the wire.
Unfortunately, an injury picked up in the first half of the Champions Cup last-16 defeat to Saracens means the Ospreys will be without their influential openside for the games against Edinburgh on April 15 and then Cardiff. However, Booth says he does not think the injury will be serious enough to cast doubt on the back-rower's involvement in any of the World Cup training camps this summer.
"Justin obviously won't feature," he said at a press conference on Wednesday previewing Judgement Day. "He came off early in that game. He's undergone foot surgery, which is pretty routine. But that counts him out for the rest of this campaign.
"Outside of that, I think everybody is healthy. Stephen Myler is just about back in training. Mat Protheroe is back in training this week. Pretty much the same, with a few people making their early recovery.
"Surgery is normally a minimum of eight weeks. I don't know the actual timeframe. I know it's gone well. It's pretty routine stuff so I don't think it'll be an issue for Wales going forward into camp.
"It's a little bit serious for for him to leave the pitch when he did. That's the joy of artificial pitches. You get caught and you get that turf toe and other bits and pieces.
"You know when he pulls himself off, then you know it's pretty serious. It's one of those things, but a routine thing we can get past. Just the timing will beat us for this season."
The loss of Tipuric comes as a blow to the hopes of retaining the Welsh Shield, with the Ospreys having claimed the trophy from the apparent clutches of the Scarlets last season. That set up their place in the Champions Cup, which saw them defeat French champions Montpellier home and away before also beating English champions Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.
Despite the remarkable campaign, Booth admitted there was an element of nerves among the regional coaches, given the stark situation the Welsh game finds itself in. Financial uncertainty has cast a hefty shadow over the game for a considerable time. A new six-year funding model has been signed off, but the reality is that players will continue to leave as belts are tightened in the coming years with salaries and budgets being driven down.
"I think it'll be a different scenario for sure," he said, sat alongside Cardiff coach Dai Young and Dragons coach Dai Flanagan. "We're all nervous. I don't mind speaking on behalf of the boys, I think we're all a little nervous about what the future is going to look like from a strength in depth and a competition point of view.
"There's a balancing act of be careful what you qualify for. I think the big challenge that we've got to get through is looking at what that future is going to look like and how you can still maintain competitiveness.
"I'm on record after the Saracens in saying that we're probably better designed for cup rugby than league rugby, in relation to availability and strength of depth point of view.
"We'll embrace whatever happens. The positioning of the European competition, whatever you're in - you can see how well the Welsh teams have done in cup competitions, whatever they are. We'll certainly embrace it and give it our best shot."
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