Fulham manager Roy Hodgson admits Bobby Zamora will have to play through the pain barrier when he makes his return from injury.
Fulham's top scorer dislocated a collarbone during the Cottagers' 3-2 loss at Stoke earlier this month and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks.
It was a particularly cruel twist to the striker's season as his superb scoring form had seen him tipped for an unlikely England call-up.
Zamora's striker partner Andy Johnson was ruled out for a month with the same injury earlier this season and has since spoken of the pain he has had to endure in matches since his return.
Hodgson, who takes Fulham to his former club Blackburn on Sunday, admits Zamora may never recover fully from the knock.
"It will be a while before he becomes totally pain free, if ever," said Hodgson.
"It wasn't a nice tackle. It was like Andy's. These injuries often come from challenges that aren't particularly pleasant.
"There aren't many players in top level football who have played as many games as Bobby and AJ who go onto the field without some sort of pain or a reminder from an ancient injury. Everyone has to come to terms with that.
"We don't consider that so much as when will he be medically cleared to play the game.
"Then the players have to manage pain barriers and manage even to some extent certain aspects of the injury that means they have to be very careful before they do something."