Jack Moorhouse is the latest player to be hit by Dundee's ACL injury crisis, becoming the third player at Dens Park to suffer the injury in recent weeks.
The on-loan midfielder picked up the injury in a bounce game against Partick Thistle last week and has since returned to Manchester United to begin his rehabilitation.
Moorhouse joins Fin Robertson and captain Simon Murray, who have both suffered similar injuries in recent weeks and will be out for the season.
Pressley confirms devastating blow
Dundee head coach Steven Pressley confirmed the news, saying: "Jack Moorhouse looks like he's picked up an ACL injury in the bounce game we played last week. It was a very innocuous challenge but he had swelling the following day. He's had a scan back down in Manchester.
"It very much looks like his season is over, which is devastating for Jack and for us. We'd waited a long time to get him and were very excited about the impact he could make on the team and in Scottish football. So it's really disappointing, for Jack first and foremost, but also for Dundee because we were looking forward to helping him develop."
Three injuries in seven weeks
Dundee will play a bounce game against Hearts on Thursday and are likely to field a trialist in that game. Pressley has a number of other players, including Charlie Reilly and Joe Wright. There is better news as striker Ash Hay is back in training and they are waiting to see how Ryan Finnigan's ankle reacts.
"I have never known anything like it as a manager," Pressley insisted. "I remember as a player at Rangers we had a spell getting a few in quick succession one season. But to get three in seven weeks is something I've never encountered before."
Search for a root cause
Pressley insisted he and his team have done everything properly and it is just down to bad luck.
He acknowledged: "It's difficult to identify the reason behind it and as a staff we've sat down to discuss a lot of aspects. Could we have done anything differently? Are we doing anything differently which could have impacted this? We certainly don't want to leave any stone unturned just in case there is.
"It will be very difficult to say for sure if there's a root cause or is it just bad luck? We're certainly looking at it, that's for sure. We've had a long discussion about it because as a staff we're always analysing our performance and trying to be better. But with these ones, it's very difficult to identify a core reason for it."
