The gloom around Cork City has grown further after the club confirmed their brightest hope, 18-year-old Cathal O'Sullivan, suffered an ACL injury in last Friday's 3-2 defeat to Sligo Rovers.
O'Sullivan is reportedly on the radar of several clubs, including Brentford, Crystal Palace and Celtic.
He has clocked up 21 league appearances for Cork this season, and made his Republic of Ireland Under-21 debut last month against Croatia.
The talented playmaker went off after 20 minutes against the Bit O' Red after a slip when competing for the ball with Sligo's Sean Stewart.
Ger Nash's team coughed up a two-goal lead in that game to fall to a loss that leaves them 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Premier Division table.
Now, they must somehow try to claw that deficit back with O'Sullivan on the sidelines.
"We are all absolutely gutted for Cathal to have suffered this injury," said Nash.
"As everybody knows, he is a really talented player with a very promising future, so this is a big setback for him, but we will all rally around him and support him. I have no doubt that he will come back stronger from this, and we will all support him in doing so."
O'Sullivan had spent time with Palace earlier this year with a cross-channel move expected this month or at some time next year.
The injury leaves Nash's squad further depleted.
On Tuesday, Shelbourne signed French defender Milan Mbeng on a multi-year deal for an undisclosed fee, while winger Malik Dijksteel signed a pre-contract agreement with Scottish Premiership outfit St Mirren last week and may depart before the UK window closes.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
