No one will understand the implications of the loss of Lewis Moody for England's Six Nations campaign more than his international coach and ex-teammate Martin Johnson. Johnson will be cursing his luck this week, and rather than any drug-related issues, it will be a broken ankle at the forefront of his mind.
With England's first match only two weeks away, this latest squad withdrawal is arguably the biggest blow to Johnson's hopes. England cannot afford a below-par showing - as different nations discover each year, a year is a devastatingly long a time to wait to rectify the wrongs of a doomed campaign.
The Autumn Internationals were always going to be the toughest of first tests for Johnson, and he was always likely to be forgiven for a shaky start. Having been thrown in at the deep end, the only life-raft in sight appeared in the form of the Pacific Islanders. England were run ragged in the choppy waters of the Southern Hemisphere big-guns.
The Autumn Internationals dented Englands pride - similar displays in the Six Nations will start to erode it. Johnson will be fully aware that he cannot survive solely on past playing glories and nor, one suspects, would he be in any way happy to do so. He will expect his players to stand up and be counted, in much the same way that they did for him as captain. He will have envisaged such a charge being led by the likes of Lewis Moody.
The flanker is a veteran of more than fifty games for his country. He doesn't always come off the pitch clutching the man-of-the-match award, his performances as such are not always notable, but his passion is. Like any player he may make mistakes; misplace passes, give away too many fouls, but successive England managers have found his big hits and big heart just too big to ignore.
Whilst experience should never be the be all and end all in sport, certain situations increase its importance. Martin Johnson's first Six Nations squad is one such situation. Lewis Moody alone is likely to practically match the collective caps count of the starting back line.
Crucially too, Moody has been part of a winning England setup. Making his debut in 2001 he soon became integral to Woodward's World Champions - a team immersed in a winning culture, which they have been striving to recapture ever since.
Quite apart form his considerable experience, it is Moody's attitude, application and sheer desire to win which England will miss against their fierce rivals. These were grey areas for England in the Autumn. Of course they wanted to win, but at times they had a rather awkward way of showing it.
Moody, like Josh Lewsey, who England recently lost to International retirement, plays with an infectious and more obvious, unabashed brand of desire. What Martin Johnson would give for this to spread amongst his young charges. This England team must learn to steal the initiative, charge down the opposition right from the kick-off and pay no more than due respect to reputation. All of these details feature heavily on the combined CVs of Moody and Lewsey.
Whether starting or used from the bench one thing is for sure; Moody is a man possessed when representing the red rose. He'd be happy, one would imagine, to wield his crutches and take on Italy by himself in England's opening game if his manager asked him to. Indeed, those crutches would conveniently increase his wingspan for those fearless charge-downs. But instead he'll be resting that ankle, watching like the rest of us, hoping to see some of himself in his teammates' commitment.
England are capable of having a successful Six Nations campaign. But for now their camp is engulfed by unanswered questions. They will succeed if all the small details can come together. If they can sustain a challenge into the final quarter of a game, if the back line can find some unity and a common purpose and if a number of on-pitch leaders can emerge, then they can top the group. Fail to do so and they could find themselves propping it up.
In short, England fans do not know what to expect from their team this year. With Lewis Moody, they always do.
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