Cape Town - Stormers lock JD Schickerling's injury will keep him out for the majority of the Super Rugby season, coach Robbie Fleck has confirmed.
The 22-year-old went down in a heap towards the end of Saturday's 45-28 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch, and what was originally thought to be a shoulder injury now looks to be a torn bicep.
Schickerling has returned home and has been replaced in the touring squad by Salmaan Moerat, and Fleck confirmed from Queenstown, New Zealand on Monday that the youngster has a long road ahead before he can think about getting back on the field.
The full extent of the injury will only be known once Shickerling has consulted a specialist in Cape Town, but early indications are that he could be out for up to 12 weeks.
With Eben Etzebeth out injured for the first half of the season, Schickerling has been given a crack at a starting role so far in 2018.
He has started all three matches of the tournament, and has not disappointed.
"He was outstanding on the weekend against three All Black locks. It was an unbelievable performance. Him and Cobus Wiese were standout players for us up front," Fleck confirmed.
"The last couple of games he has been playing exceptionally well ... just his work rate and mentality around the park was outstanding.
"We're going to miss him.
"It's unfortunate, because it happened in that last scrum. His arm got caught in the scrum and he couldn't get out of it ... it was a 'no win' situation for him."
There are other injury concerns for the Stormers ahead of their clash against the Highlanders in Dunedin this weekend.
Fleck is "hopeful" that Pieter-Steph du Toit will have recovered from the head knock he picked up against the Crusaders, while Wiese also missed training on Monday as he nurses a knock to the shoulder.
SP Marais, meanwhile, looks to have fully recovered from a knee injury while the Stormers are also boosted by the return to fitness of flyhalf Damian Willemse.