Danny Purdy suffered injury heartache as the Republic of Ireland failed dramatically in their bid to qualify for the UEFA Under-17 Championship finals.
The Irish bounced back from a 3-0 defeat by hosts Greece in their opening Elite Round qualifying match in Patras on 19 March by beating Finland and Austria in their remaining two ties.
However, their 3-0 win over Austria on Wednesday was marred by an injury to West Ham United forward Purdy, who suffered a suspected broken metatarsal 25 minutes into the match.
Academy Director Tony Carr confirmed that the 17-year-old would miss the remainder of the season, saying: "I had a call on Wednesday afternoon to tell me that Danny had fractured his metatarsal. It's a shame for the boy, because he would have got lots of football for the Under-18s between now and the end of the season.
"He will return to Little Heath on Friday and be assessed, but unfortunately he will miss out on coming with us to the Tiffany Cup in Washington DC next week and will not play again this season.
"Danny is a talented young player and we obviously all wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon."
To make matters worse, the Greeks picked up a draw and a victory - courtesy of a last-minute winner over Finland in their own final match - from their own remaining games to finish top of Group 3 with seven points.
The Irish finished in second with six points and miss out on a place at finals in Liechtenstein in May.
Ireland manager Sean McCaffrey was proud of his youngsters' efforts, saying: "To be within one minute of the reaching the European Championships is very disappointing for the boys. They can be extremely proud of their performance, not just today against Austria but over the week.
"They showed great character and skill and it's a pity that they won't get the opportunity to showcase their talents off in the finals."