Dele Alli has suffered another injury blow just as the Everton midfielder was on the verge of a return to action.
The 27-year-old had returned to training last month after overcoming a long-standing groin issue and looked set to play some part for Sean Dyche's side in their battle against relegation.
But Alli revealed in a New Year Instagram post that he'd suffered a fresh setback.
After returning to Goodison Park following a difficult loan spell with Turkish club Besiktas, Alli earned praise for courageously speaking about how he was molested as a child and went into rehab for a sleeping pill addiction.
But he hasn't been able to play a single minute of football so far this season after returning to Everton.
Alli wrote on social media: 'As the year comes to an end, I just wanted to say thank you for the incredible support I've received over the last 12 months.
'This year has been a little different for me, I've learned and experienced a lot, had ups and downs, but throughout it all you've always shown me so much love.
'Unfortunately the year isn't ending as I would have hoped, I had been close to returning to full training but frustratingly I've had another setback with my injury.
'I'll be out again for [a] short while but my outlook and mentality is nothing but positive.
'I'll be attacking my physiotherapy and giving it everything to be back on the pitch as soon as possible.
'I hope you've had the year you wanted, and wishing you all nothing but the best for 2024.'
Everton boss Sean Dyche offered an update on Alli's fitness last month, saying: 'He still has a bit to go because he has been out for a long time, he needs a game programme, but to get him back on with us would be really pleasing for him because he's been so unlucky.'
The Toffees have endured a tough Christmas period and have slipped to within a point of the relegation zone following losses to Tottenham, Manchester City and Wolves.
They'd be sitting in 12th without the 10-point deduction they received for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.
Their next outing will come in the FA Cup at Crystal Palace on Thursday night.
Back in July, Alli told Gary Neville on The Overlap about the traumas of his childhood and how he checked into rehab to fight his sleeping pill addiction.
The England star emerged as one of the country's best young talents despite a troubled childhood that saw him taken into foster care.
Alli disclosed he spent a recent spell in a rehab facility and shared details from his traumatic childhood, including the revelation that he was molested as a child by a friend of his mother's.
Alli shared harrowing details of his traumatic childhood, including an incident that saw him molested by a friend of his biological mother's.
'(My childhood is) something I haven't really spoken about that much, to be honest. I mean, I think there were a few incidents that could give you kind of a brief understanding,' Alli continued.
'So, at six, I was molested by my mum's friend, who was at the house a lot. My mum was an alcoholic, and that happened at six. I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back.
'At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. An older person told me that they wouldn't stop a kid on a bike, so I rode around with my football, and then underneath I'd have the drugs, that was eight. Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate, a man.'