Newcastle United's late defeat by Arsenal at St. James' Park on Sunday afternoon was compounded by injury to star full-back Tino Livramento.
The England international was stretchered from the field during the second half, while Newcastle were still leading, amid fears the defender had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Livramento spent a year out during his time at previous club Southampton after sustaining an ACL rupture, although initial reports at full-time on Sunday suggested the Chelsea academy graduate had not suffered a recurrence of that particular issue.
Tino Livramento suffers knee ligament injury in Newcastle defeat to Arsenal
Instead, it is reported that Livramento has instead sustained a medical collateral ligament (MCL) injury, the severity of which is still unknown and will depend on the outcome of a scan.
Needless to say, the full-back will at the very least be expected to miss Newcastle's upcoming matches, including their second Champions League fixture of the season, which takes place on Wednesday against Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise.
According to football injury expert @physioscout, Livramento's best case scenario is a bone bruise, which would keep him out for around seven days to a fortnight.
A 'Grade One' MCL injury, otherwise known as a sprain, would keep Livramento sidelined for between one-to-three weeks, while a Grade Two issue would see the 22-year-old sidelined for four-to-six weeks.
If Livramento's injury is indeed an MCL, a Grade Three injury would render him unavailable to Eddie Howe for six-to-ten weeks.
"The incident likely occurred mid-air following contact with William Saliba, which forced his knee into a valgus position – placing stress on the medial structures, particularly the MCL", Physio Scout posted on X following the game.
"On-field, the physio was seen performing a valgus stress test to assess potential MCL injury. Livramento was stretchered off and will now require scans to confirm the full extent of the damage."
Due to the nature of the physio's on-field assessment, an ACL rupture appears unlikely, but cannot be ruled out until the results of a scan are disclosed.
Newcastle already have summer signings Jacob Ramsey and Yoane Wissa missing through injury, with the pair expected back next month following the October international break.
