Al Ain and Morocco star Soufiane Rahimi has suffered a serious injury just days before the UAE club's eagerly awaited AFC Champions League Elite clash with Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad.
The Emirati side met Shabab Al Ahli at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Thursday in the round of 16 of the UAE President's Cup.
Twenty-seven minutes in, Rahimi dropped to the turf and signalled to come off with a hamstring injury. The change duly followed.
No sooner had he taken his seat on the bench than Rahimi pulled his shirt over his face and broke down in tears. The sight left Al Ain's fans fearing the worst, particularly with a run of demanding fixtures on the horizon.
Beyond the Shabab Al Ahli tie, "the Boss" host Iran's Tractor next Monday in the third round of the Elite league phase, then meet Ajman on Thursday in the UAE league.
Looming largest, though, is the trip to Al Ittihad on 2 November at Al Inma Stadium in Jeddah, in the fourth round of the AFC Champions League Elite league phase.
Al Ain lead the West group in the Asian competition after two rounds, with 6 points from two wins. Al Ittihad languish in eleventh, having picked up just a single point from a draw and a defeat.