Blackburn midfielder and Republic of Ireland international Steven Reid has been ruled out for four months with a stress fracture of the back.
Reid suffered the injury during the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2008 qualifying defeat to Germany in Stuttgart at the start of September and has not kicked a ball since.
The 25-year-old saw a chiropractor in the hope of clearing up the problem but Reid will now not return until the middle of February at the earliest.
The injury will mean that Ireland manager Steve Staunton will be unable to call on the midfielder for the next months qualifier against San Marino in Lansdowne Road.
Reid, who was named captain by Staunton for August's 4-0 friendly defeat to Holland in Dublin, may also miss the return tie in San Marino on February 7th.
