The Commonwealth Games has lost its biggest drawcard with the heir to Usain Bolt's athletics throne, South Africa's Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, ruled out of next year's games in April on the Gold Coast, leaving his career in limbo after he seriously injured a knee in a celebrity touch rugby match.
The sprinter has had surgery, which his manager said had been a success, to repair a torn ACL as well as other ligament tears and will commence rehabilitation Thursday. He hopes to be competing again late next year and therefore back for the next World Championships in Doha in 2019.
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"I was looking forward to competing in the 100-metre and 200-metre events in Gold Coast and participating at the [South African] national championships in March, so this is unfortunate timing," van Niekerk said.
The questions the injury raises are many.
Firstly, what was he thinking playing in a celebrity rugby match? That is one only he can answer but a sportsman's crazy decision-making is a cause of permanent wonder.
"This is sport and these things happen," he said. Although it was not his sport, nor anything akin to it. He was playing touch rugby.
Second, what does it mean for the Commonwealth Games now that the biggest drawcard will not be there?
The answer is it will hurt, but the Games are a celebration of sport across many disciplines and while one of the brightest stars has gone, others remain. On the track, dual world and Olympic champion, comeback queen and local hero Sally Pearson will still be the headline act.
The 100-metre sprint will still have the Caribbean runners with former world champions Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell, plus Canada's Andre De Grasse, who won silver and bronze in the 200 and 100 in Rio, and South Africa's Akani Simbine – fifth in Rio – will be there.
The African distance running champions from Kenya and Ethiopia will also be there.
Thirdly, and most importantly, can Van Niekerk return to full fitness and speed? He broke the 400-metre record when he ran 43.03 seconds at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and was threatening to become the first man to break 43 for the 400. Is it possible he could yet break that mark after surgery?
Many athletes recover from knee reconstructions to excel in their sport, though some speak of losing pace and power afterwards. Ordinarily the biggest concern is lateral movement and, for an essentially straight-line runner, this should not be a problem. But sprinting at Van Niekerk's level is not an ordinary thing. There is getting back to competition and getting back to the elite level of performance that he had managed.
It is doubtful anyone can answer this, even his surgeons, satisfactorily. It is a question that will require time to answer.
"I have faith that, God willing, I'll be able to race again later next year. Full recovery is going to be crucial, so I'll be patient, but I will work as hard as I can to get back on the track as soon as possible," van Niekerk said.
"I trust that the team I have around me, including the medical professionals, will make this process as smooth as possible."
World and Olympic 800-metre champion David Rudisha had a minor knee operation and was able to return to his best, but the 25-year-old South African's knee surgery will be more extensive than that.
He has travelled to Vail in the US for surgery and will have six months of rehabilitation in Vail, Doha and South Africa.
After Bolt retired, van Niekerk was keen to broaden his suite of events to include the 100 and 200 as well as the 400. On the Gold Coast he had only planned to run the 100 and 200 but not the 400 metres.