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Veteran Shaun Marsh is continuing his rehabilitation from a calf injury in Perth and won't make his BBL comeback for Melbourne Renegades until January.
Melbourne Renegades won't be able to call upon Shaun Marsh until the new year as they attempt to climb off the bottom of the BBL table without him.
Fifth on the competition's all-time list of top run-scorers, Marsh has already missed the first four matches of the season with a calf injury.
The Renegades have slumped to a 1-3 record in that time, including a 21-run defeat to Perth on Wednesday night.
They meet the unbeaten Scorchers at Marvel Stadium again on Boxing Day, wary of Marsh's brother Mitch, who thumped 86 off 53 balls in the previous meeting.
Shaun Marsh was initially expected to miss six weeks after suffering the "high-grade" injury to his left calf while running between wickets during a Sheffield Shield match on November 10.
The 38-year-old has ramped up his training program at home in Perth and is expected to arrive in Melbourne on either December 26 or 27.
He is targeting a return to action in January, meaning he will miss at least another two matches in December, and may not play against Sydney Sixers in Coffs Harbour on New Year's Day.
"We might hold him back until the third, which is the Stars game in Melbourne," Renegades coach David Saker said.
"Our physios haven't had a chance to get their hands on him yet, but he is flying.
"He's doing all his running, he's batting ... I talked to him yesterday and he's confident he'll be back.
"He's a class player and someone who gives us some experience in the middle and the back end of innings."
Despite sitting last on the ladder, Saker isn't hitting the panic button just yet and is confident the Renegades will still be in finals contention by the time Marsh is back in action.
Marsh will add further experience to the batting line-up after Nic Maddinson and Aaron Finch returned to bolster the top order, which had a vastly younger look to it early in the season.
Allrounder Jono Merlo has replaced batter James Seymour in the 13-player squad to face Perth on Boxing Day.
But Saker said he is unlikely to make any changes to the XI despite his bowlers turning in their worst performance of the season so far in their most recent outing.
The Scorchers piled on the second-highest score in franchise history as they complied 5-206 on the back of Mitch Marsh's powerful hitting and a cameo from Laurie Evans, who belted 42 not out from 16 balls.
"We're playing probably the best team in the competition, so if we can turn around a result on Sunday night it would be huge for us as a group," Saker said.
