The international tighthead fractured his lower leg in the Warriors' win over Cheetahs and, while head coach Dave Rennie is hoping for a swifter recovery, he admitted yesterday that it could be as long as six months.
The 22-year-old missed most of this year's Six Nations after dropping a weights bench on his foot before the tournament, only returning off the bench for the final game.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday, where the PRO14 sides involved in the Heineken Champions Cup gathered to launch the 2018-19 tournament, Rennie said: "We think he'll be out for five to six months.
"We are hoping maybe five or four and a half. It was a clean break and the operation went well but we are not going to push him. It's a big season with a World Cup following (in autumn 2019])."