The curse of Aston Villa's winless black away kit may have lifted with their FA Cup third-round win against Spurs, but Boubacar Kamara limping off after just eight minutes left many feeling the curse had the last laugh.
Kamara has been prone to lengthy spells on the sidelines through injury in each of his three seasons at Villa, averaging 23 games per season.
With the midfielder already on 18 league appearances and on course for his first 30-plus league-game season for Villa, following his fundamental influence on Villa's recent turnaround, a fully fit Kamara feels essential if Unai Emery's team are to fulfil the season's potential in the final stretch.
With Amadou Onana also set for a spell on the sidelines, the prospect of a serious Kamara injury could hardly have come at a worse time.
While transfer rumours have linked Villa with an interest in Conor Gallagher, who would have represented a timely and logical addition even on loan, the same player appears in multiple transfer stories involving several other clubs, which tempers expectations.
Encouraging news emerging from Villa this week suggests Kamara will miss no more than three weeks.
While far from ideal, it is manageable, particularly given how well Villa dominated Spurs after he left the pitch for the remainder of the first half.
Considering how pivotal the absence of both Onana and Kamara would have been, Villa can at least avoid taking emergency action in the January window to prevent their season from derailing.
Instead, they can focus whatever PSR headroom they have on addressing the need for a striker.
The rebirth of another old transfer link to Tammy Abraham, if true, would actually make more sense.
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