Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise faces a minimum two months on the sidelines after suffering his latest hamstring injury on Saturday.
Initial fears are that the forward will miss between six to eight weeks with the injury he sustained when coming on as a half time substitute in the 4-1 loss at Brighton - but that spell could be longer depending on how his rehabilitation goes.
It leaves Palace without one of their most important players for an extended period of time and arrives as a huge blow to the club’s chances of avoiding a relegation fight.
Olise had just recovered from a prior hamstring injury returning to action in last Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Sheffield United.
He limped off during that win over the Blades complaining of discomfort in the hamstring but was deemed fit enough to be on the bench at the Amex over the weekend.
Palace found themselves 3-0 down at half-time but head coach Roy Hodgson still decided to introduce Olise on at half time.
The forward was subsequently substituted with the injury 11 minutes after the restart.
‘I was told he couldn't start the game, everyone was quite comfortable with that," Hodgson said after the game.
‘But they told me, and he told me, he was fine to be on the bench and to play in the second half.
‘Unfortunately I don't have a crystal ball and I wasn't to know that would lead to a recurrence of his injury.’
Olise has endured an injury disrupted season, restricting the winger to just 11 appearances this season.
Marc Guehi suffered a hyper extension of his knee in the loss versus Brighton and is still be assessed. However, there is some hope that the England defender will not be a long-term casualty.
Eberechi Eze is also out injured with a muscular tear suffered in the win over Chris Wilder’s side last week.