Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan says he cannot afford the luxury of resting several key players for Saturday's EDF Energy Cup match against Newport Gwent Dragons at Kingsholm.

Ryan yesterday confirmed that No 8 Luke Narraway and full-back Olly Morgan (both hamstring) and fly-half Ryan Lamb (pelvis) will be sidelined for some time after being injured during the Heineken Cup defeat by Cardiff Blues on Sunday.

The trio have joined the growing injury list that already includes second row Will James, centre Anthony Allen, prop Nick Wood, hooker Andy Titterell, centre Matthew Watkins and long-term absentees Akapusi Qera and Gareth Delve, while winger James Simpson-Daniel is doubtful with a foot problem.

Ryan said: "Resting players is not convenient because of the number of injuries we have got.

"If we had a full squad maybe (we would have done), but we have been taking heavy hits on the injury front.

"We have not got anyone coming back to alleviate the problem. We are probably looking at another two or three weeks before we get the likes of Anthony Allen and Will James back.

"That should help some of the problems should we get some international call-ups on top of our considerable injury list.

"The EDF Energy Cup does offer an opportunity to play some fringe guys.

"If there are any (injury) decisions around key personnel you tend to protect them a bit more, but I don't think we have a huge amount of options to do that.

"I think the majority of people fit will probably be out on the field again."

But despite these setbacks, the Gloucester head coach is gunning for a victory in the club's second Anglo-Welsh clash in six days.

The Cherry & Whites' Heineken Cup campaign suffered a blow when they were beaten 37-24 at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

Ryan added: "We were disappointed with the performance against Cardiff.

"I thought the game went well but disruptions caused us a few problems and we made some uncharacteristic errors.

"We have had a talk after the defeat. We will have some new players coming in against Newport but we are hoping to claim a win.

"We showed a passion for winning in the last EDF Energy Cup match against Wasps (which Gloucester won 24-19). That passion hasn't changed now.

"But I think we will just be pleased to get out on the field. A few guys are not happy with their mistakes. They just want to get out there and play.

"If we can get a win out of it then it sets us up well for the game against Newcastle the following week."

The clash against the Dragons will be refereed by a Welsh official, Nigel Owens, and Ryan expects him to take charge of the match as if it were a Magners League game.

The Gloucester boss added: "The breakdown has had a different interpretation in the Heineken Cup. The Magners League is also refereed differently to the Premiership.

"The EDF Energy Cup is a clash of those Magners League and Premiership cultures. The games have varied in the way they have been refereed.

"We have a Welsh referee at the weekend. We have to approach the game as if it was a Heineken Cup match."