Republic of Ireland international forward Ronan Curtis has chopped the top off his finger in a freak accident and is now set to be ruled out of the European Championship qualifiers against Georgia and Gibraltar.
Curtis got his finger caught in a door at his Southsea home when it was slammed shut by a gust of wind on Tuesday morning as he prepared to travel to meet up with his Portsmouth team-mates for the match at Walsall.
The former Derry City forward has had plastic surgery to reattach the top of his finger but a swift return to action looks unlikely with Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett casting doubt on whether he will be fit for their Checkatrade Trophy Final against Sunderland at Wembley on March 31.
Jackett said: "Ronan trapped his finger in the door, it is quite serious and needed surgery to stitch it back on.
"It happened at home. It was windy down in Portsmouth believe it or not and the wind caught the door as he was leaving his house to meet up with us.
"According to his mum, the top of the finger was hanging off and they sewed it back on with plastic surgery.
"It was 9am when I got the call, just when we were ready to leave, although he was okay by this afternoon.
"How long he’ll be out for is a really difficult one to say. I will be surprised if he plays on Saturday, very surprised, beyond that it’s hard to call.
"He will again see a specialist and plastic surgeon on Friday again and we will go off what he says.
If you have quite deep surgery, there’s the danger of infection and other things to think about.
"It was quite a nasty one, but I would be guessing if I gave you any information about whether he will be available for Wembley."