Everton have suffered a major blow after James Vaughan dislocated his shoulder in friendly action against Preston yesterday.
He received extensive treatment on the pitch before being stretchered off and taken to hospital.
He will miss Everton's pre-season tour of the United States and the start of the Premiership season because of the injury.
Assistant boss Alan Irvine told evertonfc.com: "It will be months rather than weeks with James - a couple of months I should expect. We will learn the full extent of it tomorrow.
"Having suffered the injury myself I know how painful it is and how long it can take to get back. It is not a long, long term injury - it is not anything like his knee problem - but it is not something we expect him to return from in a matter of weeks.
"It is bad, bad luck for him. After being out for so long he did really well at the end of last season and was looking good in pre-season so it is not just bad luck for the lad but also for the team."
