Leeds United and England midfielder David Batty is fighting to save his career after learning he has no chance of even kicking a ball in anger for at least another year.
Manager David O'Leary has only 13 senior players available for tonight's Champions League qualifier against TSV 1860 Munich and, worse, the Yorkshire club have grave reservations that Batty may never play again.
The 31-year-old England player has been ruled out for a year because of the Achilles problem that has sidelined him for the last seven months.
While Kevin Keegan's squad got along without him at Euro 2000, Batty was undergoing surgery that will determine whether a career that has yielded 42 caps could be brought to a premature end.
Doctors have advised Leeds it will be impossible to ascertain whether the operation was a success for many weeks and that the earliest they should expect Batty to resume training is next summer - if at all.
His predicament is symptomatic of a turbulent pre-season for O'Leary in which injuries have all but wrecked his preparations for tonight's encounter.
Harry Kewell, Jonathan Woodgate, Jason Wilcox, Stephen McPhail and Matthew Jones have all joined Batty on the sidelines, while captain Lucas Radebe missed training yesterday with a virus.
"I don't think even Manchester United or Arsenal could cope if they were missing six or seven senior players," said O'Leary. "We've been devastated with injuries."
The prowess of TSV 1860 can be deduced from the fact that last season they beat their illustrious neighbours, the champions Bayern Munich, twice. O'Leary's patched-up side must be considered unlikely to progress over two legs.
Mark Viduka and Olivier Dacourt, recruited in the summer for a total of £13.2 million, will make their home debuts along with 19-year-old Gareth Evans.
One welcome development for O'Leary is that Viduka and Kewell do not have to join Australia's Olympic squad until after the second leg with 1860 in a fortnight.
FIFA yesterday said Leeds do not have to release the pair until September 4th. This also frees Kewell and Viduka to play at Middlesbrough on August 26th.
Leeds United (probable): Martyn; Kelly, Duberry, Radebe, Harte; Bakke, Bowyer, Dacourt, Evans; Viduka, Bridges.
