The Chiefs have a long injury list headed by problematic centre Richard Kahui to complicate the bitter disappointment of their poor performance in losing to the Western Force in Perth.

The 22-21 result was costly. The Chiefs dropped to fifth, two points adrift of the fourth placed Stormers, and left them requiring to win their two matches in South Africa against the Lions and the Sharks - and get some help from elsewhere - to make the playoffs.

They certainly won't have Kahui in their mix for their tangle with the Lions in Johannesburg next weekend.

Kahui's sad run of injuries continued when he was one of three players to collect ankle problems from the Perth match that was played at a frantic pace as the Chiefs became increasingly desperate to win.

Halfback Jamie Nutbrown and second five Callum Bruce have the other ankle worries but coach Ian Foster listed them as "minor" when he spoke to New Zealand media from Perth on Sunday morning.

He said the worst case was Kahui but he would travel with the 26-man squad to South Africa.

Lock Kevin O'Neill was troubled by a recurring elbow injury and prop Simms Davison had a back problem but both were expected to settle down as the week progressed.

All Blacks halfback Brendon Leonard was staying in Hamilton to continue his rehab from a knee injury. Foster said the problem was improving but Leonard was still unable to accelerate properly and the plan was to look at him later in the week with an eye to getting to South Africa in time to be available to play the Sharks.

The Chiefs were also worried about a reported security scare at Perth airport hampering their travel plans to the republic.

But Foster's bigger concerns lay with the health of his side's game plan and performance.

The Chiefs lacked precision and composure to quickly fall behind the Western Force at Subiaco Oval and were dragged into a hectic game of catch-up.

They did get in front 21-19 through a dropped goal from Bruce with time almost up on the clock but then conceded a last gasp penalty to the Force and had to watch Matt Giteau land the goal to restrict them to just a bonus point from their frustrating loss.

Foster said he expected the side's lack of patience to be exposed in the post-match analysis.

The Chiefs looked like they were searching for a bonus point from the opening whistle and paid the price with turnovers and inaccuracies dominating their first half effort in particular.

The Force dominated territory and possession to keep the Chiefs on the back foot.

"We conceded two early tries to inattention to detail more than anything and had to end up fighting our way back up quite a big mountain," said a hugely disappointed Foster who quite correctly labelled the game as "bizarre" at times.

"In the second half we were under the pump possession-wise and when we did have opportunities we weren't clinical enough.

"It was very frustrating," Foster said of the drop in standards from a side that had been unbeaten over the five previous weeks and playing a hot attacking brand of rugby.

"But you have to give the Force some credit - they got a lot of ball, they certainly disrupted our set piece delivery and certainly our lineouts. They forced us into a game of where we were chasing them around a lot."

Some poor field kicking and sloppy tackling also contributed to the Chiefs being under far too much pressure.

The only good thing for the Chiefs was waking up to a points table that wasn't as bad as it could have been. While they failed in their mission in Perth the second-placed Waratahs also stumbled in Pretoria where they were beaten by the Bulls.

That came on top of the Sharks slipping to the Crusaders earlier in the round.

The Crusaders are runaway leaders but just six points separate the second and seventh placed teams.

The Hurricanes made a move to third and the Chiefs lie fifth.

"Whether we'd just won that or just lost it, the result probably hasn't changed the scenario for us over the next couple of weeks," said Foster. "It's just made the Lions game for us next week the same as it always was ... it's a very big game."

But there's no escaping the thought that this loss could come back to haunt them. It was a lost opportunity because as poorly as the Chiefs played for long periods of the match they still could have snuck away with a victory.

Their control of their own destiny has loosened considerably now.