Fly-half Finn Russell limped off after 14 minutes with a groin injury in the defeat to Exeter at Sandy Park and head of rugby Johann van Graan says he will not be rushed back into action.
Bath, currently second in the Premiership table, face big games in the run-in against Exeter again at Sandy Park on Saturday week, followed by champions Saracens, Newcastle and leaders Northampton as they look to secure a play-off spot.
Inside centre Cameron Redpath was also injured and van Graan said: “It is a contact sport, a collision sport. It is not often you lose your 10, who is a very important player for us, in the first-half, and then your 12 in the second-half.
“We were disrupted, but that’s the game. Obviously, it is a lot easier if it doesn’t happen.
“We will take our time with Finn. It was a big moment in this game when he went off. Right now, it is a tough one to take, but that’s rugby. We win together and we lose together. It was a brilliant game played in the right spirit – and we came one score short.”
Van Graan added: “We are incredibly disappointed. This is the first time we as a group have been through this experience and there are a lot of hurt men, but that is because we care. It has been an incredible European journey.”