All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas has suffered a serious ankle injury at training this week that will rule him out for the rest of the season.
Thomas's club PSV Eindhoven confirmed the injury was severe enough to require surgery, which will see him miss the remaining seven games of the season.
"Ryan Thomas will soon undergo season-ending surgery," the club says in a statement. "The New Zealand midfielder suffered an ankle injury during training this week.
"We wish Ryan a speedy recovery."
The injury comes at a cruel time for the 26-year-old, who was a crucial part of the Dutch club's midfield where he made 26 appearances across all competitions this season, scoring one goal and registering two assists.
PSV are currently second place on the Eredivisie standings, 11 points adrift of runaway leaders Ajax.
The Te Puke native was a strong candidate to be one of the three over 24-year-old players part of Danny Hay's OlyWhites squad for the Tokyo Olympics in July but this injury will put his participation in serious doubt.
The 26-year-old last pulled on a New Zealand jersey in the 3-1 loss to the Republic of Ireland in November, 2019.
On Wednesday last week, it capped 500 days since the Dany Hay's side last played a competitive match, which was a 1-0 loss against Lithuania just three days after that loss to Ireland.
