It was already clear that Everton were going to be without Jack Grealish's services for an undisclosed period of time. The club made that clear with an ominous yet nonspecific announcement earlier this week.
But now reports are flowing out of Merseyside that suggest the situation may be even more dire than the initial word from the club indicated. Fabrizio Romano is among those saying that it will be a three-month injury with a stress fracture in Grealish's foot.
There are discrepancies among reports, however, with The Liverpool Echo reporting that Grealish has yet to see the specialist, so any timetable at this point is incorrect.
Of course, the concern would be that if the rumors are true, Everton would not only be missing one of its key players, but they'd be using up a domestic loan slot for a player who may not be able to feature for the club again this season.
Three months would mean a normal recovery time would end at the end of April, but given how careful the club has been with these longer term injuries (see Jarrad Branthwaite as an example), that wouldn't mean Grealish would hit the ground running in that final week.
Conservatively, maybe the Manchester City loanee is ready in early May, although Everton faces off against his parent club on May 2, so at best, maybe he's ready to take on Crystal Palace a week later. Then there would be only two matches left: home to Sunderland and away to Tottenham on the final day.
If Grealish could only see action in two or three more matches, would City simply prefer to recall him and let him rehab there? The terms of the loan would come into play, for sure, but again, that also means that Everton are carrying a loanee they can't use. Given the thin squad, that feels problematic.
This whole situation, if it turns out to be true, simply adds to the injury nightmare for David Moyes' squad. With rumors suggesting that loans are the preferred method of additions this window, the Blues must use them wisely.
Obviously, confirmation from the club is paramount. But at this juncture in the season, given the vital role Jack Grealish has played for this Everton side, losing him for a large chunk of the season is going to make this season all the more difficult.