Fly half Nick Robinson looks set to be ruled out of their opening pool game against Bristol while four other players, including Wales captain Gareth Thomas, are concerns.
Robinson hobbled out of the Blues bruising 42-20 defeat to Leicester Tigers in the EDF Energy Cup on Saturday with a leg strain. Thomas also left the pitch early with a knee injury while flanker Maama Molitika and wings Tom James and Jamie Roberts all took heavy blows to their shoulders.
Blues Coach Dai Young said: “It was a disappointing result against Leicester but the biggest concern now is the number of injuries. We’ve got five players who are all concerns for next weekend.
“We’re hopeful that Gareth, Tom and Jamie will recover but Nick and Maama are real worries. If these boys don’t recover then we will have big problems behind the scrum.”
Cardiff Blues have already lost Robinson’s understudy Nick MacLeod for six weeks after he snapped a tendon in his finger. Now they risk starting the Heineken Cup without a recognised fly half. Centre Marc Stcherbina is also a long-term injury.
The injuries finished off a miserable weekend for the Blues who failed to build on a promising first half performance at Welford Road. Two penalties from Ben Blair saw the Welsh region trail 9-6 at half-time but the loss of hooker Gareth Williams to the sin bin proved crucial.
Leicester used their man advantage with a 20-minute blitz that saw Tom Varndell and John Murphy score. Xavier Rush pulled a try back for the Blues to threaten a comeback at 21-13 but Murphy grabbed a second after Dan Hipkiss stormed through. Blair had the last say with a try and conversion in the last minute.
target=_blank>Click Here for a Statistical Match Report from the Leicester Tigers v Cardiff Blues EDF Energy Cup clash
