Aston Villa striker Luke Moore could be out of action for the remainder of the season after suffering a recurrence of a shoulder injury during Saturday's Barclays Premiership clash at Chelsea.
Moore is set to undergo surgery on the problem which has dogged him to varying degrees for the past three years and Villa manager Martin O'Neill is resigned to being without the player for the foreseeable future.
The Northern Irishman said: "I believe Luke's injury could be a season-threatening injury. It looks like - and I don't want to pre-empt things - that he will need an operation. It's the first time he has not been able to put the shoulder back in again straight away after it's come out."