The Bears have one of the smallest squads in the league with 39 first-team players, and were already dealt a blow before Christmas with news that versatile back Max Malins - who can play at full-back or fly-half - will miss the rest of the season with an Achillies injury.

The loss of MacGinty and Malins left Bristol starting against Sale with 21-year-old academy player Sam Worsley at 10.

"One of the things we have tried to do with a smaller squad is make sure we bring that ceiling up, and we have done that. A lot of young guys new to the Premiership coming through, they're getting great experience," Lam said.

"We've tried different guys to cover the holes but it does have an effect."

While Lam said he hoped Genge would be back available for their next game, he was unsure on the extent of top try scorer Ibitoye's injury.

Bristol travel to the StoneX Stadium next Saturday aiming to claim their first win there against Saracens.

"There's been ups and downs and this one is a bit of an outlier and that is massive respect to Sale and what they did, but we won't be defined by that," added Lam. "We'll learn from it and move on."