DRAGONS wing Dafydd Howells could be out for the rest of the season after dislocating his right elbow, leaving the Rodney Parade region down to the bare bones in the back three.

The 24-year-old suffered the injury at the start of the second half against Zebre in the Guinness PRO14 last weekend.

Howells, who has made 16 appearances since arriving from the Ospreys in the summer of 2018, was given oxygen as he was helped from the field and scans revealed significant damage.

South Wales Argus:

"Daf has suffered a serious dislocation of the elbow," said director of rugby Dean Ryan. "There is ligament damage and it was a very, very painful injury.

"It is disappointing because he was starting to put some pressure on playing more regularly. He will be out for a long time."

Full-back Jordan Williams is already out for the rest of the campaign after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in the European Challenge Cup win at Enisei-STM.

Wing Jared Rosser has not played this season but Ryan says the 21-year-old from Abersychan is "slowly but surely" getting closer to a return to action after a leg injury.

It leaves the Dragons down to full-back Will Talbot-Davies and wings Ashton Hewitt and Owen Jenkins for Saturday's European Challenge Cup clash against Worcester.

Wales Sevens international Jenkins has impressed since arriving at the region for the Celtic Cup and talks are ongoing with the Welsh Rugby Union about his continuing availability – and a longer term deal.

South Wales Argus:

"There are some core tournaments where they would expect him to play but they are also very supportive of his ambition to play 15s more regularly, and he is doing a good job for us," said Ryan.

The Dragons are set to welcome back hooker Elliot Dee and back row forward Aaron Wainwright at Worcester after their World Cup exertions.

The duo will feature in the encounter at Sixways along with tighthead Leon Brown, fly-half Sam Davies, wing Ashton Hewitt and back rower Ollie Griffiths after they were on Wales duty against the Barbarians last week.

South Wales Argus:

"It's a crucial time and we are moving into some important fixtures over Christmas," said Ryan. "We've got a challenge of how we integrate across Europe to give ourselves a chance going into the derbies.

"They don't all jump in for the first week, that would cause us too much disruption, and we've still got some issues with Ross and Cory that we've got to manage because we don't want them to go backwards."

Hill is nearing a comeback after a leg fracture while Moriarty missed Wales' game against the Barbarians because of illness following his World Cup exertions.

"Ross just needs to feel good about himself again," said Ryan. "He has lost a bit of weight and not felt very well for some time.

"That comes from the World Cup and it was something that affected his immune system. We are not in a rush for him, it's important that we take the right steps."