Rowan Vine's season hangs by a thread as the QPR striker awaits the news from a vital X-ray.
The player signed for £2m in January has had another setback in his bid to recover from a double leg break after he collided with then reserve keeper Matt Pickens in a training ground incident back in April.
The former Birmingham man had hoped to be close to full training by now, but tests a month ago revealed the mending process on both his fibia and tibula had not gone according to plan.
And this week there were fresh fears Vine would need yet another operation after his rehab had all but ground to a halt.
A QPR source said: "It's not looking as good as we hoped.
"The X-ray will tell us more, and if Rowan has to sit out this campaign he's still young enough to bounce back."
Caretaker boss Gareth Ainsworth added his concerns.
He said: "I know what it's like to break just a tib - and it took me around seven months to be fit again - but when you do the fibia as well, there's an awful lot more work to be done."
Meanwhile, Ainsworth denies that every time he sees the name 'Flavio' as his mobile rings he's assuming the worst.
At least 10 names have been dropped into the vacant manager's frame since the sacking of Iain Dowie two weeks ago. But Ainsworth is preparing the team for the visit of Cardiff on Saturday with the backing of chairman Flavio Briatore.
He said: "Yeah, he called me after the defeat at Ipswich, and we talked. But as far as I know I'll be looking after the team this weekend.
"A couple of the lads tried to call me gaffer. I told them I'm having none of that. I'm just Gaz like I've always been."
