Manchester City suffered a disastrous day of injuries as Gabriel Jesus was substituted off in tears and Kevin De Bruyne was stretchered off in stoppage-time in their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Brazilian attacker Jesus was visibly upset on the sidelines and had to be consoled by head coach Pep Guardiola, before Sergio Aguero replaced him in the 23rd minute .
Initial suspicions were that it could be a cruciate knee injury, similar to those suffered by team-mates Benjamin Mendy and Ilkay Gundogan, and he is reported to have left Selhurst Park on crutches.
Later on, De Bruyne was clattered by Jason Puncheon as Man City counterattacked following Luka Milivojevic's saved penalty and his injury could also see him sidelined for a significant chunk of time.
Guardiola played down fears that Jesus could be out for the rest of the season and hoped that they would be without the forward for up to two months at full-time.
"Yeah, he's injured, hopefully not much, hopefully one or two months he'll be out," he told BT Sport.
Jesus originally went down in pain just 11 minutes into the weekend's clash, but decided to play on. It soon became apparent, however, that he was not going to be able to continue, forcing City into the early change.
City will now face a nervous wait to find out the extent of the striker's injury as they enter what will be a packed first half of 2018.
In pole position to win the Premier League, the Citizens also remain active in the Champions League and Carabao Cup and will kick off their FA Cup campaign in January.
Gabriel Jesus saindo de muleta com imobilizador protegendo o joelho esquerdo. #PremierLeagueSoNaESPN pic.twitter.com/UPRygMSedc
— Joao Castelo-Branco (@j_castelobranco) December 31, 2017
Brazil, too, will be looking on anxiously at the fate of their young star.
Jesus, who took Olympic gold with his nation in 2016, had been assured of a place at the World Cup in Russia, but with the finals just over six months away a serious knee injury could end his chances of making the cut.
De Bruyne's injury appears less serious, with the Belgian having told reporters after the draw that he was okay.
Guardiola will be desperate to have his creator-in-chief fully fit for the second half of the campaign, despite a 14-point lead at the top of the Premier League table giving City a healthy cushion heading into the New Year.