BRENTFORD star Rico Henry could miss the rest of the season because of an ACL injury.
He was hoping to break into the England squad ahead of the Euros next summer.
In the previous Three Lions squad, just one left-back was chosen by Gareth Southgate as Henry narrowly missed out.
An opportunity opened up for the 26-year-old following an injury to Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Chelsea's poor form with Ben Chilwell in their side.
Henry went down after 39 minutes following a collision with Kieran Trippier as Brentford went on to lose 1-0 to Newcastle at the weekend.
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He was then taken off on a stretcher in a huge blow for manager Thomas Frank.
The average time it takes for a player to recover from an ACL injury is eight months, meaning he could miss the remainder of the campaign.
It is the second ligament issue Henry has suffered in his career and last time he was sidelined for just over a year.
Brentford's head of medical Neil Greig said: "Rico will require surgery in the next week or so and, unfortunately, a prolonged period of recovery.
“Whilst this is disappointing, Rico has been through a similar experience in the past and is already focused on using this as an opportunity to become fitter and stronger than before.
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“We will support him fully throughout this process.”
Henry, who joined Brentford from Walsall in 2016, started all five of the Bees' Premier League games this season and missed just one last term.
He was capped three times by England's Under-20s.
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