WORCESTER Warriors have suffered another injury blow as flanker Dewald Potgieter has been ruled out for four months.

The 30-year-old South African sustained a knee injury in Warriors’ opening pre-season win over Hartpury earlier this month.

After being forced off in the second half, Warriors head coach Carl Hogg said Potgieter had been sent to see a specialist to discover the extent of the damage.

The Sixways side have yet to clarify whether or not he has had to undergo an operation.

But they have confirmed he would be sidelined for up to four months, meaning he is likely to miss the first half of Warriors’ Aviva Premiership campaign.

Potgieter is among a number of injured players at Warriors with tighthead prop Simon Kerrod (groin), scrum-half Luke Baldwin (bicep) and Marco Mama (knee) facing long roads to recovery.

Mama is not expected back until the new year, but now looks set to miss the entire season, with Warriors saying he is out until “approximately April” after having surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

Potgieter’s time at Worcester has been blighted by injuries as he has made just 20 appearances since he arrived at the club in February 2016.

He damaged his shoulder in only his fourth game in blue and gold before suffering a further blow ahead of the 2016/17 season as he was forced to go under the knife again to repair a tendon tear in his left thigh, ruling him out for three months.