Socceroos midfielder Bradden Inman has suffered a broken leg in preseason training in a disastrous start to life with his new club Peterborough United.
Inman, 24, only signed with the English League One outfit last month after three seasons with Crewe Alexandra and is now set for an extended spell on the sidelines.
The Adelaide product, who previously represented Scotland at under-19 and under-21 levels, tweeted a picture from his hospital bed and said he was "devastated" to have suffered the injury.
Inman is yet to represent Australia but was an unused substitute for the 2-1 friendly defeat against England at Sunderland's Stadium of Light two months ago.
This setback will likely deny Inman -- at least in the short term -- the slow, steady integration into the Socceroos set-up that coach Ange Postecoglou had planned for him.
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Devastated to have broken my leg but determined to come back fitter & stronger than ever! #PUFC ⚽️💙 pic.twitter.com/CCzuDBZNYJ
— Bradden Inman (@brad_inman8) July 23, 2016
Postecoglou said in May he wanted Inman to follow the same trail blazed by Massimo Luongo, who kick-started his career from England's third tier by becoming a key figure of the Australian side.
"That's the opportunity that obviously exists for [Inman] but obviously this is just the first stage," Postecoglou said.
"It took a long time for Mass [Luongo] or even Bailey Wright and guys like that to actually become regular members of our team. It took them six to 12 months."