Nick Freeman and Stevenage have been rocked by the news that he is out for the season and probably a lot longer.
Boro's jack of all trades limped out of the game just before half-time at Reading and manager Alex Revell revealed the club's worst fears had been confirmed.
He said: "We’ve had bad news in terms of Nick, he's ruptured his cruciate so it's going to be a long, long journey back for him.
"We're currently talking with him and making sure that he's going to have his operation ASAP.
"He’s got a lot going on at the moment but unfortunately for us, we've lost Nick for quite some time.
"And it’s a big loss because he's such a brilliant person and character.
"Everyone's gutted for him but we'll make sure that we look after him and make sure we bring him back."
