NEWPORT Gwent Dragons were the only Welsh region to win at the weekend, but they have now been plunged into a fresh injury crisis ahead of Saturday's televised Heineken Cup tie against London Irish at the Madejski Stadium.

Though celebrating a victorious double in the twin Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh for the first time in their short history and becoming the first team to win in Glasgow for 15 months, the Dragons face being without 13 players on Saturday.

They take on a London Irish side fresh from yesterday's victory over former Premiership title winners Sale without Wales pair Kevin Morgan and Rhys Thomas and with Joe Bearman also very doubtful.

Morgan limped off at Firhill with a recurrence of his knee injury and Achilles' tendon trouble while Thomas left just before half-time with a rib injury. In-form Joe Bearman has hand and leg injuries.

The Dragons are expected to be without both their full backs, three tight head props and probably five back row forwards for the London Irish game.

Lock Luke Charteris has been told to rest for at least a month because of neck and shoulder injuries and though flanker Richard Parks' knee injury is not as bad as initially feared he will still be missing for another month or more.

The full injury roll-call now reads: Morgan (knee and Achilles), Martyn Thomas (groin), Rhodri Davies (foot), Gareth Maule (knee), Rhys Thomas (ribs), Jamie Corsi (elbow), Lee Harrison (foot), Charteris (neck and shoulder), Dan Lydiate (neck), Nic Fitisemanu (shoulder), Parks (knee), Bearman (hand and leg) and Jamie Ringer (shoulder).

It was fortunate Andrew Hall didn't join them after taking a big tumble on the grandstand steps on Friday night after being interviewed by the media following his winning return to Glasgow.

The massive injury list coupled with a small squad means Dragons coach Paul Turner cannot, like his Ospreys counterpart Lyn Jones did against Leinster, rest key players after the heavy recent number of matches.

It means forwards like Adam Black, Michael Owen and Colin Charvis plus centres Ashley Smith and Paul Emerick are having to play in game after game.

Turner stresses the importance of youngsters stepping up to the mark in the remaining two Heineken Cup ties against London Irish and Perpignan before the bigger guns return next month for an assault on the Magners League, the Dragons now sixth after successive wins against Llanelli Scarlets and Glasgow in just four days.

The next Magners League fixture is against bottom team Ulster at Ravenhill on February 15 and if they win that they could even challenge for a place in the top three.

"We have taken nine points out of a possible 15 over the Christmas and New Year period, but we've been further savaged by injury so the youngsters are going to have to step up to the challenge in the Heineken Cup over the next two weeks," said Turner.

"We've got to be as competitive as possible in Europe, but we've got to really look at the next game in the league because if we can win at Ravenhill we can go into the top four, then we've got five home games and two away to finish with.

"Two wins for us has changed the whole table and we are now within sight of the top. I am not saying we are that team, but we are growing.

"There is a huge commitment out there. Many of the tight games we have lost we could have won and those we have won we could have done so by more.

"I can't agree with Glasgow coach Sean Lineen's comments that they lost it rather than we won it because Ashley Smith could have got over in the corner, then we knocked on going over their line and all they did was come back strongly near the end. We went out there trying to play rugby."

The Dragons won despite losing Morgan and Thomas; having Emerick yellow carded; missing ten players before the game; playing with two loose head props throughout the second half; losing at least four of their own line-outs.

Replacement lock Peter Sidoli scored his first try for the Dragons for almost four years.