SATEKI Tuipulotu has been ruled out of Worcester Rugby Club's trip to Henley Hawks on Saturday as John Brain's injury list mounts.

The Tongan full-back strained knee ligaments during the 53-3 win over Birmingham & Solihull and will not be risked in the National One clash.

Tuipulotu's absence at Dry Leas is the latest injury headache for head coach Brain who will also have to do without Alistair Murdoch, Scott Barrow, Elton Moncrieff and possibly Winston Stanley if the Canadian fails a fitness test tomorrow.

Under-21 centre Gary Trueman has been drafted into the squad while academy winger Chris Moule is on standby to replace Stanley should his knee strain, picked up during training, not respond to treatment.

Murdoch is set to stay on the sidelines for a couple of weeks with a rib injury while Barrow is not risked due to a hamstring strain picked up playing for the Warriors on Monday. Scrum-half Elton Moncrieff has had a scan on his troublesome calf and is out for up to three weeks after a strain was diagnosed.

With their title showdown with Rotherham next week, Brain was not willing to take any chances with his players, saying: "We have a big squad and these things happen.

"We did not want to risk Sateki because if he had have played and aggravated the problem, he could be out for four to six weeks. We are positive, however, that he will be OK for the Rotherham game."

Despite two defeats this season for Henley, Brain is warning his table-topping team not to take the league's second-from-bottom side lightly.

"They are another side, like Birmingham & Solihull, that Worcester appear to have had a problem with away from home in the past.

"Last year they went there and scraped home. I'm told Henley scored what appeared to be a perfectly good try in the closing minutes that was disallowed. That would have won them the game.

"We have got every respect for Henley. They play a very attractive type of rugby.

"They are at home, they haven't won a game yet and are potentially a dangerous animal. They won't want to go three games without a win and will be pulling out all the stops against us. I think it will be a test for us."

Worcester squad: Hinshelwood, Yapp; Stanley (Moule), Yates, Trueman, Garrard, Chalmers, Smith, Pellow; Windo, Lyman, Collins, Moreno, Ross, Hall, Sims, Zaltzman, Morgan, Evans, Clarke, Jones, Jenner.