Western Sydney Wanderers captain Rice Williams' A-League main season looks to be over with a scan confirming the seriousness of a hamstring injury over the weekend.
The veteran defender collapsed on a stretcher before he left the field in the 78th minute of Sunday's 3-3 draw with Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
Scans have since confirmed Williams' hamstring tendon rupture, an injury that usually takes at least three months to heal.
Williams, the 14 international player who did not give up hope of a return to Graham Arnold's soccer plans for the 2022 World Cup, will undergo surgery to repair the tendon.
It is a setback for the former Middlesbrough and Melbourne Victory player, who has had a long history of injury concerns during his career, which led to his place in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The last thing the Wanderers needed was the pressure on coach Carl Robinson.
The Reds and Blacks have won just one of their six league matches this season and are eighth on the ladder.
Western Sydney will be out of action this weekend after three positive COVID-19 cases within the Melbourne club's squad earlier this week postponed their game with Victory at Combank Stadium.