In-form Ciro Oro has joined the Queensland Reds' growing list of casualties, as coach Les Case avoids turning into a 'death massacre' to escape a Super Rugby Pacific slide.
Oro underwent thumb surgery on Monday and will be out for at least four weeks, while inclusion center Josh Flock (shoulder) is also a doubt for Friday's clash in Brisbane with the Highlanders.
Co-captain Tate McDermott and fellow Wallaby Fraser McCreight have both been handed three-week suspensions for poor pay in a bruising loss to Moana Pacifica in New Zealand last Friday.
Case believes there have been “inconsistencies” in the suspensions this season, but the penalties were no surprise and “it's all evened out”.
“It wasn't ideal in the game, and it was fairly costly as we saw,” Case said of McDermott's suspension.
“He rode that hard, as he does. It's uncharacteristic but it's been dealt with and we'll move on.”
McCreight's suspension could be reduced by one match, while Case said veteran playmaker James O'Connor (hamstring) would not play against the Highlanders.
Pacifica scored a last-gasp goal to seal a rare win and hand the Reds their third straight loss after starting the match with a 3-1 lead under the new coach.
At 3-4, they sit in sixth place and are looking forward to a tough clash with the 10th-placed Highlanders (2-5) at Suncorp Stadium.
“Now there are different expectations about how we will respond,” he said.
“The numbers show that our foul rate at the wrong time of the game was costly.
“We are careful not to fall into an abyss of doom from which you cannot recover.
“We're just dealing with the real critical things that are in front of us that we're trying to get right.”
