The Blue and Blacks of Cardiff are hoping backs Iestyn Harris and pieter Muller ecover from injury in time to face Montferrand in the Heineken Cup on Saturday.

Harris will have an anti-inflammatory injection in a thigh injury today, while Muller aggravated an ankle problem in training yesterday.

Coach Rudy Joubert told the Western Mail last night, "Pieter suffered a slight ankle strain. He is 50-50 but we are hopeful both he and Iestyn will make the starting line-up.

"Iestyn took part in our training run on Wednesday. We will make a final decision about them on Thursday."

If Harris fails to make it youngster Nicky Robinson, who is 20 today, is expected to start at outside-half while Muller's place at centre would go to England A cap Matt Allen.

Joubert responded to alleged criticism elsewhere of Harris and Robinson by saying, "We have been doing a big job for Wales by playing a 19-year-old at outside-half and a guy who had not previously played union.

"Nobody has recognised that," he claimed. "We could have gone out and bought an experienced outside-half but I made the decision to go with Nicky Robinson to develop him.

"And Iestyn is learning week by week. We knew we were taking a chance by playing two inexperienced guys in a vital position like that but we decided we wanted to develop two of Wales's best prospects."

"We must be doing something right because the Wales (Harris) and Wales A (Robinson) outside-halves against Argentina were both from Cardiff," he said.

Cardiff trail leaders Montferrand by three points in Pool 5. Defeat would result in the Welsh club failing to reaching the quarter-finals, excluding the season in which they were expelled from it by the Welsh Rugby Union, for the first time in the tournament's seven-year history.

Cardiff: R Williams; A Sullivan, J Robinson, P Muller or M Allen, C Morgan; I Harris or N Robinson, R Howley; S John, J Humphreys, D Young (capt), C Quinnell, J Tait, R Appleyard, E Lewis, M Williams.