Gary Deegan faces an extended time out of football after being struck down with blood poisoning.
The former League of Ireland midfielder has required three operations and spent 10 days in hospital to cure the problem.
“Gary’s got a serious condition,” said Cambridge United boss Colin Calderwood. “He’s been in hospital and he’s really been through the mill.
"From a personal point of view, with his wife being pregnant and him in a hospital, it's tough.
“He’s had a form of blood poisoning and needed three operations, so it’s a real blow to him.
But Calderwood added: “Fortunately the docs did really well and we got to the problem although it took a while to find out what it was.
“We hope he’s beginning to mend, but it might be a long time before we get him back out on the field.”
Deegan played in the League of Ireland for Bohemians, Galway United, Longford Town and Shelbourne.
He left Bohs for Coventry City in 2010 and then joined Hibernian, Northampton, Southend and Shrewsbury before joining Cambridge in 2017.
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