St Mirren face losing Kristian Dennis for the rest of the season.
The striker suffered an Achilles injury after netting in consecutive games against Dundee United and Celtic, and scans have shown a tear.
Manager Jim Goodwin said: "Kristian Dennis is away to see a specialist so we await the outcome of that.
"He got a knock on his Achilles and the scan showed a slight tear. So the specialist will decide whether that's one that can heal on its own or whether we need to operate.
"If we have him back by the end of the season we'll be delighted but it's looking unlikely at the moment."
The former Chesterfield and Notts County forward is in the first season of a two-year contract and has scored three goals in total for the Buddies.
Goodwin added: "It's a real blow because, since Kristian came to the club, he has had one thing after another. He missed the start of pre-season because he came in so late and then he's had one injury after another.
"We felt, just prior to this Achilles problem, we were starting to see the best of him. He looked as if he was getting sharper and fitter and was getting amongst the goals as well.
"He is probably our most proven striker in terms of numbers when you look at what Kristian has done over his career and we were really looking forward to seeing what he was going to give us in the second half of the season.
"Unfortunately that's not panned out the way we would have liked.
"But he will get all the support that he needs and, if this season is over, then so be it. We will just need to make sure he is firing on all cylinders come pre-season."
