Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre revealed that winger Oriol Ripol broke his right arm after an injury time challenge in the Edgeley Park clash.
It's another huge blow for the Sharks coming on top of the long-term serious injuries to Sebastien Bruno and Sean Lock which they picked up in last Wednesday's Guinness Premiership defeat at London Irish.
And its a massive personal setback for the Spaniard who was sidelined by an identical injury last season.
"It's another big blow for us," said Saint-Andre. "It's the same arm that Oriol broke last year although it is in a different place and he will be out for a long time.
"As it is we only have a squad of 31 full-time professionals which is the lowest in the Guinness Premiership and we now have lost three guys ahead of two huge Heineken Cup games against Clermont-Auvergne and Munster."
Saint-Andre, meanwhile, who completely changed his side from that which was beaten at Irish, paid tribute to his largely inexperienced side who came within a whisker of a major upset.
"We were obviously hugely disappointed at losing the game but I was very pleased with the way the guys performed against what was a very strong Cardiff side," he added.
"Overall, I thought there were a lot of good points to come out of the match for us." Tweet