NEWPORT Gwent Dragons will start the season without Pat Leach as the influential centre continues to recover from a knee problem.

The 30-year-old north Walian was able to make just four appearances last season after he ruptured knee ligaments by getting trapped at a ruck in the pre-season clash with Northampton in Ebbw Vale.

Leach, one of the Dragons' strongest defenders, made his return in February only to suffer a relapse in the European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-final win against Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade.

He went under the knife again this summer but is back training at the region's Ystrad Mynach training base targeting a pre-autumn return.

"Pat will be back in October or November," said backs coach Shaun Connor. "He had a clean out and that has made things a lot easier for him.

"He is back in conditioning training and it's just a case of making sure he is right when he does come back because we've got depth with three or four players in midfield."

The Dragons are well covered in midfield despite Leach's delayed return, Ashley Smith's enforced retirement because of concussion and the absence of Jack Dixon and Tyler Morgan in the Wales World Cup training squad.

Adam Warren signed from the Scarlets in the summer and will share midfield duties with Ross Wardle, Carl Meyer and Barney Nightingale in Friday's first pre-season friendly against Nottingham at Ystrad Mynach.

The Dragons are set to adopt the same approach as they did in last summer's encounter at Bristol when they fielded two separate XVs and gave game time to all fit members of the squad.

However, new scrum-half Sarel Pretorius may sit out the fixture as he only arrived from South Africa late last month. His fellow new boy Charlie Davies, who arrived from Wasps, is likely to share the duties at 9 with Luc Jones and Owen Davies.

Wales lock Andrew Coombs (knee) is continuing his rehabilitation and is targeting a mid-September return while Rhys Buckley (wrist) is likely to return in the friendlies against the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues.

"We will name a squad of 31 or 32 against Nottingham with most players getting a half," said Connor, whose charges kick off the Guinness Pro12 at Connacht on Friday, September 4.

"It's a blowout for us. We've been training hard and it's a way of conditioning players to knocks and seeing if things we have worked on come through in a game.

"We've worked on ways that we feel we can improve our game in attack and defence and it's not until you come up against opposition that you can see if they will work or you may need to tinker with them.

"By the Blues game we should have an idea of what sort of team we want to take to Connacht."