Chester FC striker Akwasi Asante has been knocked down by an injury.
The 26-year-old has been missing since he suffered the setback in their 2-1 win over FC Telford United on December 22.
Asante is expected to go under the knife, meaning he will be sidelined for a couple of weeks.
He took some damage to the tendon behind the knee that will need rest and rehabilitation for what is a Grade Two strain.
Manager Anthony Johnson has confirmed injury to the Dutch-born Ghanaian.
"Both Gaz Stopforth and Akwasi had scans and we had the results back this week and it wasn't what we were hoping for," said Johnson.
"Gary looks like he is going to need surgery on his injury and he is going to be out for the foreseeable future, which is a massive blow for us as he has been first class.
"Akwasi took a bang to the back of his knee against Telford. The recovery period was four to six weeks from time of injury and he had a little setback with it but hopefully we'll have him back in the next four weeks as he will be massive for us in the run in.
"The injury situation is like nothing I've ever known. We've just got to get through it and see if we can bring in some bodies in the short term to help with numbers."