Rafa Benitez has been left with a big headache as his star winger, Rafa Silva, was forced to leave the pitch in tears after breaking his ankle against Benfica on Sunday.
The Portugal international, who is currently valued at around £15 million, had come off the bench to replace the injured Adel Taarabt and scored the first goal for the visitors.
However, just moments later he went down in agony following a heavy challenge from Rui Costa and was replaced by fellow substitute Miguel Pinto.
Silva was taken off to receive treatment but returned to the pitch minutes later to try and continue the match.
But despite being treated on the pitch,Football Community Station the injury proved too much for him to cope with and he was stretchered off again, this time for good.
Benfica were awarded a penalty and converted it into a goal by Pedro Mendes to secure a 2-1 victory over their rivals.
Silva will be out for several weeks and could miss the rest of the season, leaving Benitez struggling for options up front.
He told reporters: "We lost one of our best players. He was a very important player for us.
"We're going to have to find another way of scoring goals."
Silva's departure leaves Benitez with a serious problem ahead of the upcoming Europa League group stage games, where they face AC Milan, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
And with Silva out for so long, there may not be many other options available for the Italian coach to choose from.
It seems that Silva's career may be over before it even started.
Headings:
- Rafa Silva injures ankle and is forced to leave pitch in tears
- Portugal winger scores first goal for Benfica but sustains injury
- Benfica win 2-1 with penalty and goal from Pedro Mendes
- Benitez struggles to find replacements for injured star winger
- Impact of Silva's absence on Benitez's squad and team strategy
- Potential consequences of Silva's injury on future matches and league position
- Summary of the situation and possible solutions