Dundee defender Andrew Davies has broken his foot for a second time.
The former Ross County centre-back's Dens Park misery has continued just as he was closing in on a debut.
The 34-year-old joined Dundee from Hartlepool on an 18-month deal in January but broke a metatarsal bone during a closed doors game days later.
Manager Jim McIntyre said: "Andrew Davies has rebroken his metatarsal last week in training. We have been waiting on getting that re-investigated.
"He was back to see the specialist last week. We just thought he felt a bit of discomfort but it turns out, after the CT scan, that he's rebroken it.
"So Andrew will be operated on this afternoon (Thursday) and his season's over basically.
"It's a massive blow for all concerned but none more so than Dav himself because he's been desperate to get going and back in the side.
"Obviously he is in a very low place having been delivered that news on Wednesday that he needs another operation because he had been back on the training ground for a week and he was looking exceptional.
"He has done so much hard work behind the scenes and he is probably in the best shape that I've seen him.
"It's just a body blow for everyone concerned but it is what it is and it's football. Every club and manager has their injuries.
"It's been especially disappointing because he was a signing I expected to make a big difference to our situation and unfortunately for us and for Andrew he has not been able to do that.
"But like any of our players, he will be looked after and given all the support and encouragement he needs."
McIntyre had better news to report with striker Andrew Nelson showing no ill effects following two weeks of training after missing several games with a heel injury.
Nelson is set to return for Saturday's crucial game between the bottom two in the Ladbrokes Premiership as Dundee travel to face St Mirren with a large support.
"It's a brilliant reaction from our fans," McIntyre said. "They are travelling in high numbers, we have sold out our allocation, and I thank them for that.
"And it's up to us to give them a performance to get excited about, and that's exactly what we will be trying to do."
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'bd08d48c-32f5-4f7a-bed5-94bf863c028f');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Dundee defender Davies breaks foot for second time'});
