Saints centre Dom Waldouck will be out for the rest of the season after sustaining an injury in training last week, the Chron understands.
Waldouck, who transferred from Wasps to Northampton last summer, had to be removed from the paddock on a stretcher.
And the diagnosis is more severe than first thought, with the 25-year-old now expected to be sidelined for a period of months.
Waldouck will see a specialist to determine the exact extent of the damage, but the nature of his injury remains unknown.
His absence leaves the door open for Tom May and Luther Burrell, who both played a part in the defeat to Leicester last weekend, to scrap it out for the No.12 spot at the club.