Victoria's fast bowling depth is set to be seriously tested with another paceman falling victim to injury ahead of Friday's Sheffield Shield clash against New South Wales at the MCG.
James Pattinson bowled just three overs during Wednesday's Ford Ranger Cup clash against New South Wales before limping off with a suspected stress fracture of his left foot.
He joins a long line of Bushrangers bowlers that are unavailable including Peter Siddle (back) and Shane Harwood (shoulder) while Clint McKay is on national duty.
And Pattinson's older brother Darren is no certainty to return from a rib injury sustained last month having only just returned to bowling in the nets this week.
The Bushrangers head into the clash with a great chance of cementing top spot on the Shield table as the Vics look to win successive Shield titles for the first time since 1980, having also hosted last season's final.
With four matches remaining the Vics already have a 10-point cushion between themselves and third-placed Western Australia but second-placed Queensland is just two points behind and challenging the Bushrangers strongly for the right to host this year's Shield final.
New South Wales in contrast is bottom of the table with just eight points and badly needs an outright victory to have any chance of reaching this year's final.
However with both second-placed Queensland and third-placed Western Australia unlikely to record any points in their current matches against Tasmania and South Australia respectively; the Bushrangers will take a stranglehold on this season's competition if they can record another outright win against New South Wales.
Victorian coach Greg Shipperd admitted the clash is a big one in Victoria's bid to earn hosting rights for the Shield final for the second-straight season.
"We are nicely placed but we are certainly not over the line," Shipperd said of the Vics' hopes of playing in and hosting this season's Shield final.
"We have to be playing at our best to make sure we get a home final, which is our goal, but we have to play some good cricket still to do that."
And the Vics next game is away to Queensland in late February, making victory against New South Wales even more imperative to give the Bushrangers some breathing space ahead of that difficult fixture.
"That will be another mini grand final, if you like," Shipperd said of the upcoming trip to the Gabba.
"But all the teams are fierce opponents and for me it's about getting the job done at the end of the day against all our opposition."