Salford City Reds will be without Australian forward Shannan McPherson for Sunday's Challenge Cup clash with the Leeds Rhinos.
The 26-year-old aggravated a medial ligament in last weekend's Super League defeat at Wakefield and now requires three weeks' rest.
Salford coach Phil Veivers is trying to stay positive ahead of the visit of the champions, stating he wants his squad players to step up.
"It is a big blow losing such a key player ahead of the game but you have to stay positive," he told MEN Sport.
"I view it as an opportunity for someone else to come in and play their part."
Salford's loss to the Wildcats was their fourth in a row, although Veivers believes his troops were unlucky not to win two of those games.
"We could and should have won two of these games," he continued.
"We just didn't turn up at Wakefield and only started playing in the second-half. It was 12-6 but we conceded two soft tries - things could have been far different had we not done so.
"We have chatted at length this week as a group about what is needed to get back on track to win ball games.
"Maybe there has been a bit of frustration - we will certainly need to be at our best against Leeds.
"Leeds have so much quality in depth and are always dangerous opponents."