The news that Marcus Rashford will be sidelined until the end of October for surgery on a shoulder injury comes as a hefty blow for Manchester United.
The 23-year-old has played through the pain barrier for club and country England for so long but the procedure can't be put off any longer.
Rashford had a scan on Tuesday to ascertain the severity of a muscle tear in his shoulder and it has been decided to have the operation now.
Marcus Rashford needs shoulder surgery and may not return until the end of October
Unfortunately, the chosen surgeon isn't available until the end of July and it will then be another six weeks of recovery time before the forward can even resume training, let alone regain full match fitness.