Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has been ruled out for four months with a serious knee injury.
Bamford, for whom United paid £7m in the summer transfer window, sustained the injury after scoring in an Under-23s match against Bristol City last week.
After limping off in the first half of the 5-0 victory, the striker underwent a series of scans and assessments over the course of the weekend.
And a further round of testing yesterday revealed the true extent on the injury; Bamford will now be sidelined until Christmas having damaged his posterior cruciate ligament.
Leeds had made Bamford, 25, their most expensive player since Robbie Fowler moved to Elland Road nearly two decades ago, and it had been hoped that the former Middlesbrough man would make an impactful contribution to the club's season despite him being kept out of the starting lineup by the in-form Kemar Roofe.
The striker, who United targeted after failed attempts to sign Abel Hernandez and Matej Vydra, scored his first goal on his first start for the club in a League Cup tie with Bolton last month, but has found league opportunities limited, hence Marcelo Bielsa's request that he play in the Under-23s match alongside the likes of Jack Harrison and Jamal Blackman.
But the injury has now cruelly deprived Leeds of one of their only two proven strikers, placing an unenviable burden upon the shoulders of Roofe to maintain his rich vein of form.
It is hardly welcome news ahead of a potentially difficult trip to face Millwall at The Den this weekend, but some solace can be taken from the fact that Bamford's injury could have ended his season completely, and that Adam Forshaw, Pablo Hernandez, Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper should be available for that match - though Gaetano Berardi is struggling with a knee problem sustained during the recent draw with Middlesbrough.