Everton boss Roberto Martinez has described as a "disaster'' the fresh ankle setback that looks set to sideline defender Leighton Baines for a considerable period.
The club announced on Saturday ahead of their Premier League opener against Watford that Baines would miss the game having sustained a knock to the ankle on which he had surgery in May, a procedure that forced him to sit out the final two matches of last season.
And when asked about the 30-year-old England full-back after Everton's 2-2 draw with the Hornets, Martinez said: "We don't know how long he will be out for, but it has been a real disaster.
"We were preparing for the Watford game and in one incident in training, he blocks the ball and it hits him in exactly the same place where he had surgery a few months back.
"It was devastating, because he had worked so hard and looked stronger than ever -- I don't think I had seen him looking as powerful and refreshed in the last two seasons. Then there was this big knock.
"We still have to find out how long it will be, but it is not going to be just two or three weeks -- I think it is going to be a little bit longer than that.''
Asked if Baines would need another operation, Martinez added: "We don't know at this stage, but it could be. The surgery was to reinforce that ligament in his ankle and we still need to see the real extent of the damage. After the inflammation, we will find out.''
Martinez also had news on Everton winger Kevin Mirallas, who was substituted in the second half minutes after appearing to pick up a knock in a challenge with Watford's Valon Behrami.
The manager told evertontv: "He wanted to stay on the pitch, clearly. But he had a really nasty tackle and we're going to be assessing him in the next 48 hours.
"He tried to stay on, he couldn't and now we'll see what the extent of the injury is.''