Rudy Gestede has returned to Aston Villa after an injury picked up on international duty ruled him out of playing any further part for Benin over this international break.
The 6ft 4" target man was taken off at half-time in his country's 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso on Friday with a knee injury, and has been sent back to B6 following Benin's medical team confirming that he won't be fit to play against Burkina on Tuesday in the second leg.
Gestede injured following promising start to Villa career
It remains to be seen how bad the injury is, but the feeling is that he'll at least sit out Villa's trip to Everton on Saturday afternoon, which will come as a bitter blow to the striker, hoping to impress new boss Remi Garde.
Although he's not set the world alight since joining the Villans from Blackburn Rovers in the summer, Gestede has stayed fit to this point, and scored four goals in all competitions - the highlight of which being the winning goal against rivals Birmingham City in the Capital One Cup.
It's now up to Villa's remaining strikers, Jordan Ayew, Scott Sinclar, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Libor Kozak, to take on the mantle, and make the difference against the Toffees. That's even more true given the recent reports that Garde is chasing Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin, with a view to signing him in the January transfer window.
Another disappointment for Villans
The news comes as a further blow to Villa, in a week where young left-back Jordan Amavi was ruled out for the rest of the season, having damaged his knee ligaments in action for the France Under-21 team.
Whilst Gestede's injury won't be nearly as bad as Amavi's, all this bad luck is making Garde's start to life at Villa a frustrating one. Having felt the elation of taking a point against league leaders Manchester City in his first game, reality of the difficult task he faces is now setting in, and things could get a whole lot harder if they're defeated at Goodison Park.