Both were originally in doubt for the Highlanders clash, Welsh after injuring his thumb against the Hurricanes and Roets with a sprained ankle - suffered in the same match. They were cleared to face the Highlanders, but then aggravated their injuries to such an extent that they will both be out of action for at least a week.

This means the Bulls now have more than just a handful of players on the sidelines - with lock and captain Victor Matfield (shoulder), winger Gavin Passens (knee) and midfielders JP Nel (calf) and Wynand Olivier (shoulder) all currently injured.

Following their surprise 23-18 defeat in the opening round against the Sharks, the Bulls recovered to beat the Hurricanes 40-19 a week later. But their 16-all draw against the Highlanders has tempered any notion that the Bulls could go one better than their fifth-place finish last season.

Throughout the pre-season, and the opening weeks of the tournament, their injury-list has steadily been growing and the latest additions will result in a major reshuffle of the backline.

Olivier, who would have been an obvious choice to replace Welsh in the midfield, injured his AC Joint in a pre-season friendly for the Blue Bulls’ Vodacom Cup team at the weekend. He will be out of action for at least two weeks.

There is some hope that Nel may well be able to play this week, but he has to pass a fitness test at training. Bulls coach Rudy Joubert may be forced to thrust young Sam Willard into the frontline against the Brumbies.

Leopards fly-half Willem de Waal, who came on as a second-half replacement against the Highlanders, is favoured to take over from Roets at fullback, but young Hennie Daniller did not do much wrong against the Sharks in the opening week - when he started in Roets’s absence.

Matfield, meanwhile, will start taking contact at training this week, but it is unlikely that Joubert would rush him back too soon. He might be kept on ice for the game against the Waratahs next week.

Despite all the injury setbacks, the Bulls remain optimistic about their play-off prospects. They are currently fourth on the standings, but the reality of the matter is that they will need to win this weekend against the front-running Brumbies and next against top-of-the-table Waratahs to ensure that they depart on their five-week away leg with enough points in the bank and the confidence to win on the road.

Joubert is expected to name his team at Tuesday’s weekly media conference.

Copyright Planet-Rugby.com