Dragons back row Ross Moriarty is to have surgery to release pressure on a nerve injury – with boss Dean admitting a timeline over his return remains unclear.
Moriarty, 28, has been ruled out since he was forced off in the first half of the United Rugby Championship clash with the Sharks in Durban last month.
Nerve damage means he will not feature for the Dragons against Cardiff Rugby this Friday night (kick-off 7.35pm).
“Ross is going to have surgery to try and release the pressure he has on his nerve," said Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan.
"Everybody is working around that to see what the timelines are, so we have gone through a period of trying to rehabilitate that.
"It hit a bit of a stalemate so we are hoping the next move is a way of accelerating his progress.
"I don't know the answer to all that and all the medics, both Wales and ourselves, are involved in going to the next stage, which is to try and release that pressure.
"I would be always hopeful his recovery is fast, so we will see how that goes."
Aaron Wainwright has already been ruled out of the rest of the season while Ryan added the returns of lock Will Rowlands (shoulder) and tighthead Leon Brown (nerve) are still unclear.
“We are hopeful because of the natures of the injuries but we are also running out of time and there is no point putting somebody in and that aggravating a situations,” he said.
“We will keep monitoring the injuries next week.”
All the medics, both Wales and ourselves, are involved in going to the next stage, which is to try and release that pressure...
