Aberdeen striker Curtis Main is set to undergo knee surgery next week.
Boss Derek McInnes confirmed the 27-year-old is set to miss the first month of pre-season training.
The Dons had hoped to get the procedure done earlier but were unable to as hospitals were at full capacity coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Main had been suffering pain while training alone during the social isolation measures in the coronavirus lockdown.
Now the Reds have finally secured a slot for Main to go under the knife early next week.
McInnes said: “Curtis needs a little procedure on his knee. It is a tidy-up job.
“Due to the lockdown and the restrictions we weren’t able to get Curtis seen by a specialist because the hospitals were obviously chock-a-block.
“We weren’t able to get a scan for Curtis until last week. We can’t get his little operation until the beginning of next week.
“It is a minor procedure and will probably keep him out two to three weeks.
“If he gets his surgery as we expect next week, he will hopefully be back with us after that second week in July.”
Prior to the shutdown of Scottish football at all levels on March 13 Main had pushed ahead of lead scorer Sam Cosgrove to become first choice in attack.
Cosgrove had netted 20 times before the turn of the year but after the Premiership winter break in January the goals dried up for the prolific striker.
In a bid to prevent crashing to a club record sixth straight league game without scoring, McInnes handed Main his first start in almost two months for an away clash at Hamilton.
The former Motherwell striker netted early on to end the goal drought in a 3-1 victory.
Main started all six subsequent games after the Hamilton win until football was forced into shutdown by the pandemic.
The Aberdeen squad will report to Cormack Park tomorrow for Covid-19 tests. The club has bought a machine so all tests can be done quickly on site.
Aberdeen will then return to socially distanced training on Monday.
Meanwhile, it is understood the SPFL is hoping to hold talks with Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack this weekend on a permanent 14-team Premiership.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster has given Scotland’s clubs the chance to vote on a new 14-10-10-10 format for next season.
Scotland’s 42 clubs have been urged to indicate their position by Monday.