WALES threequarter Hal Luscombe will have a special splint made to protect his injured thumb so that he can play for Newport Gwent Dragons in their vital Heineken Cup-tie against Newcastle at Kingston Park on Sunday.

Luscombe injured a ligament in his thumb during the second half of Saturday's game against Edinburgh and was forced off late on despite having treatment on the pitch.

But with Nathan Brew already ruled out with damaged ankle ligaments, the Dragons are anxious for Luscombe to play in the must-win Anglo-Welsh clash.

He is also keen to start to further press his claims for a place in the Welsh team for the opening Six Nations game against England at the Millennium Stadium on February 5.

He began the autumn series on the right wing, but then suffered a knee injury which knocked him back and Tom Shanklin seized the opportunity, scoring eight tries in three appearances.

But Luscombe was in fine form against Edinburgh and is looking to re-establish himself. Another decent performance in the north-east of England, when he is likely to come up against emerging England player Matthew Tait, will further press his claims.

"This is the most important game in the Dragons' regional history and we need all our top players available. Hal needs to play," said team manager Jim McCreedy.

Brew's injury, which made him leave the field after only 18 minutes against Edinburgh, has been confirmed as damaged ankle ligaments and will keep him out for l continued from back up to a month. But scrum half Gareth Cooper trained for the first time for a while yesterday after missing three matches with a groin strain. He is likely to feature in the 22 for Newcastle and will be anxious to make up for lost time with Wales coach Mike Ruddock due to name his Six Nations squad next week.

He has clearly lost further ground in his duel with big rival Dwayne Peel, who stole a march during the November matches when Cooper was out with a knee injury. Cooper made a stunning return in the home game against Perpignan only to fall victim of a groin strain.

He could well have to start on the bench at Newcastle in view of his time out and the form of Gareth Baber last Saturday.

The Dragons are also monitoring the fitness of Jamie Ringer and Luke Charteris, who both suffered rib injuries against Edinburgh, Charteris giving the most concern at the moment.

Newcastle's injury problems are mounting, young lock Andy Buist, stretchered off after going on as a replacement against Perpignan last Saturday, rupturing knee ligaments and out for the rest of the season.