Canterbury will not be bringing All Black captain Reuben Thorne back from his extended break for Saturday's crunch NPC clash with unbeaten Waikato in Hamilton.
Thorne was given a leave pass for the first month of the NPC after captaining the Crusaders and All Blacks in 21 consecutive matches.
Waikato are ridinghigh on top of the NPC table with a maximum 15 points from the first three matches.
Canterbury are fifth with 10 points from two wins and a loss. But coach Aussie McLean and co-coach Ian Mallard are not tempted to fast-track Thorne's return, confirming he will remain on the sidelines.
Canterbury can still field an international back row without Thorne. Specialist No 8 Sam Broomhall had a strong game on the blindside flank in the 48-27 Ranfurly Shield win over Southland.
Lock Norm Maxwell and centre Mark Robinson were "both possibilities" this week, McLean said.
Maxwell has been battling a hamstring injury for almost two months and Robinson has been troubled by a lower back problem.
Wing Caleb Ralph did not train on Tuesday, to rest a slight leg injury.
Lock Matt Dalzell (neck), centre Nathan Mauger (hip), Joe Maddock (finger) and Richard McCaw (knee) are expected to be over minor niggles in time for the match.
Maddock dislocated his finger in the second half against Southland, but put it back into place himself.
The Hamilton clash is the first of three tough away assignments for Canterbury, who also have to travel to Auckland and Taranaki.
McLean said Waikato were "strong all round the park," but he was particularly impressed with their new centre, Regan King, who scored three tries in last weekend's big win over Taranaki.
"He's not only skilful and a guy who can beat men, he seems to be a pretty intelligent footballer as well."
The NPC teams from the five Super 12 franchise bases - Canterbury, Otago, Wellington, Waikato and Auckland - all had big wins in the last round, but McLean believed this year's first division was very competitive.
"It's always been pretty good. Last year was a good competition as well. Sometimes scores can flatter teams. It doesn't necessarily indicate the degree of competitiveness that's been in the game.
"You can't drop your guard against anyone ... this year there's been a few upsets and a lot of close games."
