Bohemians manager Declan Devine has confirmed that captain Keith Buckley has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament damage in last last Friday's defeat to St. Patrick's Athletic.
Buckley came off towards the end of the first half in an eventual 2-0 defeat for Bohs at Dalymount Park and it has now been confirmed that he will be out for several months.
The news comes as a blow as Bohs look to nail down European qualification through the League of Ireland Premier Division, while preparing for the FAI Cup Final against the Saints on 12 November.
"It is devastating news for us," said Devine. "It was a tough weekend. When you see Keith Buckley stay down and then hobble off, you know something serious is wrong because he's simply not a player to do that.
"At the time, it looked very serious, and when we got him looked at and scanned on Saturday morning, he rang me straight away, and it was devastating for him.
"It is very hard on Keith but on the whole group too because what he has brought back to the club this year has been invaluable.
"He is an integral part of the group, not only because of his incredible leadership qualities but also his playing qualities as well, which get overlooked at times. He is very good on the ball, his awareness of danger, and everything he brings."
Bohs travel to Dundalk on Friday night and currently sit third in the table, three points ahead of the Lilywhites with just two games to play.
Sandwiched between them are Shelbourne, who host UCD, but Devine knows that fourth place would be enough to gain Europa Conference League football, given that their cup final opponents are already guaranteed a European place.
Watch St Patrick's Athletic v Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland on Friday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7.45pm, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
