Jofra Archer and England have been dealt the cruellest of blows with an elbow injury ending his chances of playing in the Ashes this winter.
Archer will not play again this year after scans revealed the recurrence of a stress fracture in his troublesome right elbow.
The 26-year-old had only just returned to the field following surgery on the area to remove bone fragments that medics believed was causing him pain in the elbow.
However the discomfort remained as he tried to up his workload for Sussex and after visiting a specialist who had studied the scans, the stress fracture was confirmed.
It is a sad outcome for the fast bowler who had hoped to spearhead England's pace attack at both the T20 World Cup in the UAE in November and then at the Ashes that followed.
But his body has simply not allowed him to follow up his epic 2019 with more of the same, and there is a real fear that he may well have played his last Test.
It is desperate news for England Test skipper Joe Root too, who had hoped to have some serious pace to take on Australia with this winter, but who is now likely to have only Mark Wood firing.
With Archer out and fellow paceman Olly Stone is also on the sidelines with a stress fracture of the back, Wood is the only genuine quick bowler for Root to turn to.
There is nothing Root can do about injuries to his players, but he certainly hasn't had the rub of the green lately with Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, and Archer all struggling to play this summer and beyond.
It is a far cry from 2019 when Archer steered England to 50-over World Cup glory by bowling the super over against New Zealand at Lord's, he then put the frighteners on Australia with some of the most hostile bowling ever seen at the same ground a month later.
But after being asked to repeatedly go to the extreme fast bowling well several times in New Zealand at the end of 2019, his elbow bit back.
A stress fracture was diagnosed in South Africa at the start of 2020 and despite resting it at times during the summer where he played four out of six Tests, it remained an issue.
He has since had painkilling injections on the elbow as well as the most recent op to remove bone fragments, but nothing has worked leaving many to wonder whether Test cricket in particular is compatible with his physique.
With a lengthy break from the game on the cards now, Archer's next step medically will be decided in the autumn, but he may well have a decision to make on his Test career too.
The five day game may simply be too demanding for his body, but he could still enjoy a successful, lucrative, and fulfilling career in white ball cricket where the stress on his elbow is reduced.
Those decisions are for the future, but for now the hope is that one of the most exciting talents in world cricket is able to get himself fit again to be able to do the thing he loves and is rather good at.
