Tottenham's hopes of ending an 11-year wait for silverware this season have been dealt an enormous blow with the news that talisman Harry Kane will be sidelined until the middle of March.
The England striker, who has scored 20 goals in all competitions for Spurs this season, damaged ankle ligaments in Sunday's 1-0 home defeat by Manchester United.
Kane is expected to miss 11 matches, including meetings with Chelsea in the Premier League and Carabao Cup, plus both legs of their Champions League last-16 showdown with Borussia Dortmund.
Mauricio Pochettino has been given a further headache by Son Heung-min's absence from potentially another five matches should they go all the way in the Asian Cup currently ongoing in the United Arab Emirates.
It undoubtedly leaves Spurs short in attack entering what could prove to be a defining phase of their season.
Pochettino's team, who are nine points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League, head to Fulham on Sunday before they defend a 1-0 first-leg lead against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
A fourth round FA Cup tie at Crystal Palace follows before a trio of Wembley league fixtures against Watford, Newcastle United and Leicester City lead into their next European assignment.
A crunch visit to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea awaits them on February 24, while there is also the small matter of a north London derby at home to Arsenal on March 2.
So how will Pochettino solve his attacking dilemma ahead of a crucial run of fixtures? Sportsmail examines the options.
LUCAS MOURA LEADING THE LINE
Probably the most likely solution is to introduce Lucas Moura to a more regular centre forward role.
The Brazilian has consistently impressed since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain a little over a year ago, offering plenty of flair and the occasional spectacular goal.
Lucas has scored eight times this season and has become a regular starter, albeit usually in a wide position.
However, he has also occupied the main stiker's role from time to time and with some success - he scored two goals playing alongside Kane in the 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in August.
The only difference from previous experience is that Lucas would be playing up front alone rather than with Kane's assistance and you wonder if he would have the physical presence to unsettle an opposition back line.
What he does have though is pace and skill, so there's no question Lucas could perform the job if aided by an attacking midfield trio of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela behind him.
One issue with the 26-year-old in the short-term is that he picked up a knock in the 7-0 FA Cup thrashing of Tranmere Rovers earlier this month.
In response to a supporter enquiring about his fitness on Twitter earlier this week, Lucas replied: 'The knock was strong, it is still painful. I am doing full time treatment to be ready as soon as possible.'
The good news should Pochettino go with Lucas up front is that Spurs have a rare vacant midweek this week to get him back to full fitness.
GO WITH FORGOTTEN MAN LLORENTE
If Pochettino wants an out-and-out centre forward to replace Kane in his system, he'll need to place his faith in Spaniard Fernando Llorente.
The 33-year-old has played a mere 36 minutes of Premier League football this season and has started just two games, one of which came against League Two Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup.
He did score three goals against Tranmere and also netted against West Ham in the Carabao Cup, but such scoring interventions have been rare occurences.
Llorente has scored just nine times for Spurs since signing at the start of last season and seven of those came against Tranmere, Rochdale and APOEL Nicosia.
He could have left Spurs this month but now looks almost certain to play a leading role in at least some of the matches ahead.
Though often rusty in front of goal, he did give Spurs a presence up top during the closing stages against United after he was introduced from the bench for Harry Winks.
Llorente is quite smart with his knockdowns and he should be able to bring those behind him into play as a result should Spurs go more direct.
He could be used in the more immediate games, especially against such a porous defence as Fulham's on Sunday, while Lucas regains full fitness.
Llorente could have three behind him - Alli, Eriksen and Lamela - in a 4-2-3-1 set-up or Pochettino may return to the 3-4-2-1 sometimes seen with Alli playing deeper.
Playing the latter system, with Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier playing as wing-backs could see 6ft 4in Llorente a suitable target for crosses.
THE EVEN MORE FORGOTTEN MAN JANSSEN
You'd be forgiven for thinking that Vincent Janssen had departed Spurs some time ago.
But actually the 24-year-old Dutch striker, signed for £17m in July 2016, has been sidelined with a foot injury for the whole season.
He only returned to the field in an under-23 match against Liverpool earlier this month, where he completed 45 minutes.
Janssen has rarely started in the Premier League for Spurs and has made just 39 appearances overall for the club, scoring six times.
But though Pochettino has ruled out using him as their main striker in the coming weeks, his return to match fitness could well prove useful as an option from the bench.
DIVE INTO THE TRANSFER MARKET
With the saga over the White Hart Lane redevelopment dragging on and on, Spurs had committed to not spending anything in this month's transfer window.
But the injury to Kane could well prompt a hasty rethink given how the optimism of their season could quickly unravel in his absence.
With the club still in pursuit of Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the table, still active in both cup competitions and in the knockout stages of the Champions League, it may be worth investing now to keep the season alive.
Mousa Dembele is about to move to Guangzhou R&F in China and the £11m recouped could be put to good use.
Maybe a break-the-bank offer for West Ham's Marko Arnautovic or Bournemouth's Callum Wilson could solve the goals crisis.
But with their expensive new stadium about to open, the transfer budget is small, so don't hold your breath.
