The Waratahs are sweating on the fitness of Wallaby hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau for the match against the Sharks on Saturday.
Polota-Nau has missed just two Super Rugby games in his first four seasons but injured his hamstring early on in the loss to the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.
The 24-year-old frontrower was expected to go for a scan on the hamstring straight after arriving back in Sydney on Monday afternoon.
He is hoping that he will be able to play against the Sharks at the Sydney Football Stadium but Waratahs coach Chris Hickey is waiting to see the results on the scan which are expected on Tuesday.
"It's a hamstring strain fairly high, we're just not too sure to what extent, there's some doubt there," Hickey told The Age at Sydney Airport.
"It actually happened quite early in the first half and he found he couldn't really stretch out, so we made the decision at halftime to put Damien Fitzpatrick on and he did a good job for us in the second half."
Should Polota-Nau be ruled out against the Sharks, it is expected that former Australian under-20s and schoolboys captain Fitzpatrick will come in with former Force hooker Luke Holmes providing cover on the bench.
Hickey added that Wallabies hooker Adam Freier was still about four weeks away from playing after he underwent back surgery. Freier has however started running this week.
The Waratahs are much more optimistic about the fitness prospects of Test prop Benn Robinson, who took another shoulder knock against the Bulls.
"We are reasonably confident that will settle down by Saturday," Hickey said of Robinson's injury.
Lock Cam Jowitt who missed the Waratahs' two games in South Africa after suffering an ankle injury in the opening round clash against the Reds is still a week from being able to play for the Tahs.
Wallabies lock and flanker Dean Mumm will be able to play again after serving a two week suspension which will be a boost for the team as he can play in either the second or back rows. Hickey is keeping quiet at the moment about whether the Test would return to face the Sharks from Natal.
Mumm played at blindside flanker against the Queensland Reds , but could find himself back in the second row this weekend, with Ben Mowen re-establishing himself in the No. 6 jersey in South Africa.
Hickey said he was unlikely to make any changes outside of ones forced by injuries, as he wanted to develop combinations.
The coach lavished praise on 20-year-old lock Kane Douglas, who made his first two Super starts after debuting off the bench against the Reds.
"He's a player that's improved over the last 12 months and every time he's been given an opportunity to play he's performed," Hickey said of Douglas.
"It was a big challenge for a 20-year-old matching up against (Bulls skipper and Springbok lock) Victor Matfield, I thought he did great credit to himself."
Hickey is expecting the Sharks to provide a big challenge as they have still not won a match.
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