EBBW Vale centre Carl Meyer will feature for Newport Gwent Dragons in their LV= Cup clash against Exeter on Sunday as the region bolster their midfield ranks.

The South African has been training with the Dragons and is poised for a debut against the Chiefs at Rodney Parade.

Meyer, 23, is a former Sharks academy player and is playing for the Steelmen on a three-year sporting visa.

Dragons are short in midfield with Tyler Morgan on Wales duty and Pat Leach and Ross Wardle sidelined by knee and shoulder injuries respectively.

Ashley Smith is set to make his return from a jaw injury this weekend and Meyer, from Pietermaritzburg near Durban, will get a chance to press his claims for a professional contract.

“Carl will be involved against Exeter, he has shown up well in training and we need to see him play,” said Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones.

“We’ve learnt this season that five centres is not enough and we need to have six in our squad next year.”

The Dragons have been plagued by midfield injuries and were forced to field wing Tom Prydie and fly-half Dorian Jones as makeshift centres in September while Ben John and Rhys Williams had spells on loan from the Ospreys and Carmarthen Quins respectively.

Meyer helped Ebbw Vale win the Swalec Championship last season and has been in fine form for the Principality Premiership leaders since returning in December.

"I love to get my hands on the ball and create things," he said in the Argus at the start of the month. "I was originally a 10 and then moved to 12 where I enjoy distributing the ball, but also enjoy a bit of physicality on the crash ball."

It’s not just in midfield where Jones will ring the changes after a tough block of derbies and European tussles.

He said: “The LV= Cup is a great opportunity to see every single player play, what we are looking to develop here is competition within the squad.

“Previously there have been just 15 players to pick from at the Dragons and we are looking to increase that to 20 to 25 players so that no matter who plays you get a very good standard of rugby.”

The Dragons lost to Harlequins at the Stoop and won with a bonus point against the Ospreys in Bridgend in their autumn LV= Cup fixtures.

They can still make the semi-finals of the competition but are reliant on Saracens slipping up against either London Welsh, who visit Rodney Parade a week on Sunday, or Exeter.