Wanganui centre Craig Clare, pictured, and prop Tietie Tuimauga will be missed for tomorrow's match with Poverty Bay in Gisborne.
Steelform Wanganui's depth will be tested even further when they hit the road for Gisborne today without their big enforcer in the front row or former Super Rugby professional in the backline.
Linchpin prop Tietie Tuimauga, who has added significant teeth to the bite of the 2016 Wanganui forward pack, is the latest player to suffer AC joint damage in the shoulder.
Meanwhile former Highlander Craig Clare has again aggravated his old calf injury, joining a injured reserve list which still includes lock Sam Madams alongside wingers Simon Dibben and Samu Kubunavanua - the latter having another painful Tuesday training on his ankle and so will get it x-rayed.
Playing Poverty Bay for the second road game in a row, coming halfway through a Mitre 10 Heartland round robin which is already quite gruelling after an extended preseason, coach Jason Caskey's focus was on keeping the team feeling fresh this week.
"We tried to lighten it up a bit at Tuesday night training, have a bit of fun.
"Very aware the excitment comes at the end of the season when there's finals rugby, but at this stage it's trying to keep the enjoyment of it.
"Poverty Bay are always a dangerous team. They're very capable of scoring points."
Looking at a fortnight without the 120kg Tuimauga, Caskey has promoted understudy Hamish Mellow to loosehead prop, while young Ruapehu prospect Gabriel Hakaraia rushes straight back from the NZ Heartland Under 19's in Taupo to join the bench.
Caskey was confident his three props can cover Tuimauga's workload.
"Viki [Tofa]'s probably the better scrummager out of the pair of them, we aren't going to lose too much in the set piece.
"Hamish has got a lot to offer too."
Hakaraia's graduation into Heartland rugby has long been anticipated, and Caskey was confident he will not be too worn out from three games in seven days at the national under 19's tournament.
"He's shown a bit so gets an opportunity.
"He's young, and he'll be only asked to do 20 minutes or so."
To cover Clare, the comeback of injured speedster Michael Nabuliwaqe for his first game since scoring a hat trick against West Coast in August could not be better timed.
He takes over the left wing position, with bolter Te Rangatira Waitokia moving to the right and Cameron Crowley switching to centre.
In a re-jigged backline, both in-form first-fives will now start as Dane Whale comes into second-five to partner Irishman Steve Crosbie, while an unwell Kameli Kuruyabaki steps back to the bench.
"Kameli was sick on Tuesday night and we wanted to give Dane a start," said Caskey.
While the team is stretched thin in several areas and Caskey will pray nothing happens to his key locks Gavin Thornbury and Campbell Hart - given Madams is going pig hunting this weekend and only a week away from returning - the coach still has an overabundance of loose forwards.
Malakai Volau and Ranato Tikoilosomone again swap the starting No8 jersey, while Tremaine Gilbert takes over the reserve flanker spot and unfortunately for the very consistent Jamie Hughes, there are no more Development XV games to have a run around this weekend.
"Genuinely that's [positions] where you cultivate injuries, but at this stage we haven't had too many," said Caskey.
Wanganui's last trip to play in Gisborne was during the tough 2013 season, where they came back in the final quarter to just sneak home 25-21.
Last October they were comfortable winners in the Cooks Gardens clash, 55-23, and nine current Wanganui players are backing up from that game.
While Caskey no longer has standout Stephen Perofeta, who scored a hat trick that day on the way to earning a professional contract in Taranaki, he knows Waitokia in full flight could cause the same damage to the home side.
After beating East Coast 54-30 in Week 1, Poverty Bay have run into teams who are there or thereabouts in the Top 4, and it has shown in their losses to King Country (30-24), Buller (30-18) and South Canterbury (52-28).
Wanganui fly out for Auckland to connect with the flight down to Gisborne today.
The curtain-raiser will be the Air Chathams Wanganui Under 18's taking on their Poverty Bay counterparts.
The Wanganui team is
1. Hamish Mellow; 2. Roman Tutauha; 3. Viki Tofa; 4. Campbell Hart; 5. Gavin Thornbury; 6. Bryn Hudson; 7. Peter Rowe (c); 8. Malakai Volau; 9. Lindsay Horrocks; 10. Steve Crosbie; 11. Michael Nabuliwaqe; 12. Dane Whale; 13. Cameron Crowley; 14. Te Rangatira Waitokia; 15. Ace Malo.
Reserves - Forwards: 16. Cole Baldwin; 17. Gabriel Hakaraia; 18. Tremaine Gilbert; 19. Ranato Tikoilosomone. Backs: 20. Kane Tamou; 21. Kameli Kuruyabaki; 22. Kaveni Dabenaise.