China's preparations for Thursday's Asian Cup quarterfinal against hosts Australia have been dealt a serious blow after captain Zheng Zhi sustained a back injury during his country's 2-1 win over North Korea.
Zheng is an integral player in a team that finished top of Group B with three wins out of three, and his potential absence is a cause of great concern for his manager.
"Zheng Zhi is very important for the team, a key player," coach Alain Perrin told reporters. "He is a good organiser in midfield and a very experienced player."
One of China's most successful players, Zheng now plies his trade at Chinese champions Guangzhao Evergrande having had stints in Scotland with Celtic and the Premier League with Charlton Athletic.
The 2013 Asian Player of the Year is the leader of the nation that has twice finished runners-up in the Asian Cup.
"We realised after Zheng Zhi left that we had had some problems, we had some trouble organising the midfield," Perrin added. "It's obvious that if the key player's not here we have difficulties during the game."
With this being China's best ever start in this tournament, Perrin is remaining calm and warning against a backlash from Australia, who lost 1-0 to South Korea.
The Frenchman said: "We have one day less recovery time than Australia, and we also need to spend one day on a trip from here [Canberra] to Brisbane.
"I take a lot of satisfaction from the fact we have won three matches. Playing against Australia, as host team, will be very difficult for us."