Captain Thierry Henry will not play for Arsenal for the rest of this season due to injuries, the club has announced.
On a disappointing news day for the London club it was also confirmed that Emmanuel Adebayor has been given an additional one-match ban and fined £7,500 after being found guilty of "reacting aggressively and failing to leave the field of play immediately" in the Carling Cup final.
Henry, who damaged stomach and groin muscles in his team's Champions League exit to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, should be ready for next season, but his absence for the remainder of the current campaign will undoubtedly fuel speculation over the future of one of the world's best players.
"Thierry Henry will be out for a minimum of three months," manager Arsene Wenger told their website ( www.arsenal.com). "Unfortunately, this means he will now miss the rest of this season both domestically and internationally, but we are confident that he will be ready for the start of next season."
Henry has been dogged by a lack of fitness since returning from the World Cup in Germany, notably with a long-standing sciatic nerve problem, along with hamstring and foot injuries.
The latest setbacks have been the final straw and Arsenal will have to pursue their only remaining objective - a fourth-place finish that would book them into the Champions League qualifiers - without the club's record goalscorer.
Henry, who has also been the Premier League's top scorer for four of the last five seasons, leaves a side who are fourth in the table and look comfortably on course for that objective.
They are a point behind third-placed Liverpool but have two games in hand - which they also hold over fifth-placed Bolton Wanderers, who are five points further back.
The scoring burden will now fall on Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor, but he was sent off for his part in the brawl which marred Chelsea's 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium and was given a three-match ban.
Today, after a personal hearing he was found guilty by the Football Association at today's hearing and given an additional ban will come into effect after the initial one is served.
Dutchman Robin van Persie, Henry's original strike partner this season, has been missing since January with a broken bone in his foot and could be out for another two months.
On-loan Brazilian Julio Baptista, Frenchman Jeremie Aliadiere and England teenager Theo Walcott are the other forwards available.
Henry's absence will also be a blow for France's Euro 2008 qualifiying campaign.
France are second in Group B, trailing leaders Scotland on goal difference and two points ahead of the side who beat them in the World Cup final, Italy.
Ukraine are three points behind the French but have a game in hand, with the top two going through to the finals in Austria and Switzerland.