THE Dragons are sweating on the availability of former Wales and Lions hooker Richard Hibbard for Saturday's Guinness PRO14 derby with Cardiff Blues in Newport, writes Chris Kirwan.

The summer signing from Gloucester limped off in the opening stages of the 29-13 loss at Glasgow after injuring his left knee attempting to make a tackle.

The 34-year-old has formed a promising combination with Wales hooker Elliot Dee, coming off the bench to add energy and impact, but is now at risk of missing the first derby of the season.

Rhys Lawrence, yet to make a regional appearance after his arrival from Ealing Trailfinders, has been playing in the Celtic Cup and is next in line.

The Dragons look set to be without fly-half Arwel Robson, who came off in the first half at Scotstoun with an ankle injury. The 21-year-old underwent a pair of operations in the summer.

He was replaced by Josh Lewis while Jacob Botica is the other option at 10 with Gavin Henson still troubled by a knee problem.

The blows give credence to head coach Bernard Jackman's decision to rest Wales internationals Cory Hill, Ollie Griffiths and Ross Moriarty for the trip to Scotland, even if he felt they could have helped earn a consolation.

"If you put them in the side then there would have been a cracking chance of getting a bonus point," said Jackman, whose side trailed 22-13 in the closing stages with a strong wind at their backs.

"But it's a case of longevity and keeping the rest of the squad involved; it was important that Nic Cudd got another chance, that Tavis Knoyle got a game, that Brandon Nansen got a start, we needed to rotate the props.

"The challenge for us is to be able to go away from home and get points while rotating the squad a little bit without the vast changes of last season."

Jackman believes that the spirit show at Scotstoun means the Dragons are making progress on the road, despite a 35th successive away loss in the PRO14.

"We put a massive effort in, I am really proud of the shift that the players put in," said Jackman.

"In the last couple of minutes we were in touch of a losing bonus point and we just needed to get down there and force something. That's big progress from Leinster, when we were well beaten.

"We made Glasgow work for it and that's the challenge for us – to be hard to beat first before we start winning away, particularly somewhere like Glasgow, a formidable side with a great record.

"We made it difficult for them but it was a game would should have got a losing bonus from. That's disappointing but there were definitely positives.

"We wanted to make progress from Leinster and we definitely did at a difficult place to come. We defended much better."