Ruud Van Nistelrooy's anguish at missing out on a move to Manchester United was followed by even more trauma yesterday when the Dutch striker suffered a fresh injury which is likely to put him out of the game for a year.
Any prospects of United resurrecting their Stg£18.5 million deal for him imploded when his suspect right knee gave way at PSV Eindhoven's De Herdgang training ground.
European football's most sought-after striker underwent exploratory keyhole surgery at the St Anna hospital in nearby Geldrop and the immediate diagnosis was that he would be out for up to a year with a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Television pictures showed van Nistelrooy writhing in agony after collapsing during heading practice with his personal fitness trainer Luc van Aght.
The PSV doctor Cees Rein van der Hoogenband carried out the operation. "It's a very unhappy and unlucky situation," said the PSV spokesman Pedro SalazarHewitt. "It could have happened to any player but that is the way these things go.
"In the next few weeks a decision will be made about when an operation will take place. After that, Ruud will have to wait a minimum of eight months before he is fit again. He is out for the rest of the year and it could be a full year before he is back."
Van Nistelrooy said: "When I fell on my knee, it was very painful for about two minutes.
"The pain lessened and I was able to walk off the pitch myself and in the dressing-room we decided to go to hospital."
Although Alex Ferguson insisted he was still "monitoring the situation", there is no likelihood whatsoever of the deal being resurrected now. "It's a terrible blow for the lad," said the United manager. "What started as a bright week for him has turned into a nightmare."
With a bitter irony, the latest and cruellest twist to the van Nistelrooy saga comes less than 24 hours after his proposed British transfer record move to Old Trafford collapsed because he would not have an exploratory operation on the same knee.
He damaged his medial ligaments in the same knee in a friendly against Silkeborg of Denmark seven weeks ago.
United wanted to reassess the injury but Dutch football's leading scorer refused because of the possible implications for his rehabilitation programme ahead of this summer's European Championships in Holland and Belgium in which he had been expected to lead the Dutch attack.
Although PSV hastily released a statement claiming the two injuries were not related, United will feel their decision has been vindicated.
"It's a very unhappy and a very unlucky situation because it happened just 48 hours after he was with Manchester," said SalazarHewitt. "But it could have happened if he was a totally fit player and that's how these things go."
Leeds United are to make a Stg£11 million offer for the Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Leeds manager David O'Leary is confident that the champions will let Solskjaer go despite the breakdown of the van Nistelrooy transfer.
Leeds had an official £10 million bid turned down for the Norwegian striker 24 hours before transfer deadline day and will return with an improved offer at the end of the season.
Initially Ferguson flatly refused to sell his prized substitute to one of his club's closest rivals.
But Ferguson is still in the market for a world-class striker as well as pursuing a £17 million summer deal for Tottenham's England defender Sol Campbell and Leeds are hopeful they can persuade him to sacrifice Solskjaer by increasing their original offer.
O'Leary is also chasing West Ham's Rio Ferdinand to help his team mount a sustained challenge to Manchester United's authority next season.
UEFA yesterday cleared the Leeds forward Harry Kewell of stamping on Galatasaray's Romanian international Gica Popescu during the return leg of their UEFA cup semi-final at Elland Road. The Australians' red card will not be revoked, but he will not be suspended..
Meanwhile, Manchester United captain Roy Keane is favourite to land the PFA Players' Player of the Year award tomorrow. Keane's Republic of Ireland team-mate, Coventry's Robbie Keane, is nominated in the Young Player of the Year category.
