Monaco will be without the league's top scorer Nene for Saturday's trip to the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps as they look to deny Auxerre a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 victory.
The Brazilian is sidelined with a hamstring strain and coach Guy Lacombe has decided not to risk the forward this weekend.
"We're doing everything to get him ready for the Montpellier match next weekend," Lacombe told www.ligue1.com.
"He won't be ready for Auxerre. It's a blow, but we have a good enough squad to cover his absence as a team, even if we will miss his individual qualities."
Jean-Jacques Gosso and Juan Pablo Pino are also absent due to illness and a calf problem respectively, while Francois Modesto is missing following a family bereavement.
In more positive news for Lacombe, Park Chu-Young (ankle), Eidur Gudjohnsen (shoulder) and Eduardo Costa (calf) are all available after injuries.
Auxerre lost their first three games of the campaign but have since embarked on an amazing run and won their last six league games.
But coach Jean Fernandez is not getting carried away with his third-placed team's fine form ahead of the visit of Monaco, who are one place and one point worse off.
"For us, the standings don't mean anything," he said. "After our first three matches we had zero points and were bottom of the league. Everyone thought we were going to have a very tough year.
"The important thing is to continue like we are and keep getting points. But we know that it won't be easy for Auxerre to maintain this pace and fight for the Ligue 1 crown."
Midfielder Benoit Pedretti is a slight doubt for Auxerre after spraining an ankle in training on Wednesday.
