Talented striker Noah Botic's hopes of breaking into the Socceroos' World Cup squad have been all but dashed by a serious ankle injury.
Botic, 23, will have surgery next week and miss up to nine months after breaking his ankle and tearing ligaments at training with club FK Austria Wien.
The Austrian club estimated a return between six and nine months, with even the shortest possible return time likely to rule former Western United star Botic out of making a run for June's World Cup.
"Sad news from the Violets' training: striker Noah Botic suffered a serious injury during training on Wednesday," the club said in a statement, translated to English, on their website.
"He was diagnosed with a broken ankle and torn syndesmotic and medial ligaments. He will be out of action for six to nine months.
"The 23-year-old Australian is expected to undergo surgery next week.
"On behalf of the entire Austria family, we wish Noah all the best!"
Botic earned his first call-up for the Socceroos for games against New Zealand in September, but did not debut.
He would have hoped to jostle with breakout sensation Mohamed Toure, Mitch Duke, Nicholas D'Agostino, Adam Taggart and others to make his mark as a No.9.
Botic has scored three goals and notched one assist across 13 Austrian Bundesliga games this season.