Both the Sharks and the Hurricanes suffered injury setbacks before their Super 12 clash at Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday.

Sharks loosehead prop Ollie le Roux has been ruled out with a quad muscle injury sustained in Saturday's tough encounter with the Highlanders. Super 12 rookie Eduard Coetzee, 14 kg lighter than the Bok star, will replace him.

He represented the South African under-23 side last year in the Africa Championship tournament and the previous two years he was a member of the national under-21 side. He hails from Pretoria and has represented the Bulls under-21 and Vodacom Cup sides.

In another setback for Rudolph Straeuli's side, wing Stephen Brink has also been ruled out with a leg injury. The speedster also left the field on Saturday. His injury could open the door for Springbok Gaffie du Toit's return, who has thus far only seen action from the bench.

The highly impressive Ricardo Loubscher could be shifted from fullback to wing in place of Brink to accommodate Du Toit. Loubscher has been a key attacking player from the last line of defence for the Sharks and there is a feeling that his attacking prowess is wasted on the wing.

Sharks captain Mark Andrews said Le Roux's absence is a big setback for the team. "He's the man with more than 50 Super 12 matches in our forward pack. Several of the others have six, or seven or eight. Ollie means a lot more to us than just what he contributes on the field - in the match build-up he's extremely valuable."

The affable Le Roux was obviously disappointed about missing out on the action. "They're a physical side and I enjoy playing them. They've got a great pack of forwards you know are going to get stuck in - you can give them some metallic studs and you know you'll get some back," he joked.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have injury concerns of their own. Flanker Kupu Vanisi is on his way back home after his problematic knee didn't respond well enough to treatment. Vanisi injured his knee in a stomping incident against the Reds, but was cleared to travel to South Africa.

On Tuesday, however, the knee played up again in a training session and the management team decided Vanisi should go home for intensive treatment. Vanisi will have a scan when he arrives home and it's feared there is some cartilage damage.

He will be replaced on the two-match trip by Brent Thompson, who has played both previous matches in Vanisi's key No 7 position without ever managing to adapt totally to the job. He will probably only arrive in Durban late on Thursday or early Friday. Therefore, the Hurricanes seem certain to use Rodney So'oialo on the openside against the Sharks.

Coach Graham Mourie said that So'oialo and Campbell Feather were the alternatives for the job against the Sharks. A likely loose trio combination are Filo Tiatia at No 8, with So'oialo and Jerry Collins on the flanks.