Marc Casadó faces months on the sidelines. The Deportivo La Coruña midfielder, on loan from Barcelona, has undergone surgery on a fractured collarbone, an injury that halts his progress just as he was fighting to nail down a place at his new club.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", Casadó picked up the injury during Deportivo's match against Real Betis on Sunday. He fell on his shoulder after a collision with Marc Roca and left the pitch immediately, visibly in pain, sparking concern at both Deportivo and Barcelona.
He had started the game, his third appearance since moving to Deportivo, having come on only as a substitute against Sevilla during a week of squad rotation.
The severity was obvious to Casadó the moment he went down. "It's broken.. it's broken", he told the doctors before being substituted.
On Monday, the Galician club confirmed the player had undergone surgery in La Coruña under sports injury specialist Rafael Arriaza, for a fracture of the right collarbone.
A medical statement published on Deportivo's official accounts and website read: "Marc Casadó underwent surgery at the HM Modelo hospital in La Coruña at the hands of injury specialist Rafael Arriaza, due to a fracture of the right collarbone".
The club stopped short of putting a timeframe on his absence, saying only that his return to competition would depend on how his recovery progresses.
This type of injury, though, typically sidelines a player for between 8 and 12 weeks. That means around 3 months out, with his return potentially delayed until next January, after the Christmas break.
For Casadó, it is a cruel blow. He had been hoping for a bigger role at Deportivo after slipping out of Hansi Flick's regular plans at Barcelona.
Casadó joined the La Coruña side on the final day of the transfer window, chasing more game time and a fresh start to his career.