For Real Madrid fans, it was a familiar sight. Gareth Bale, named in the starting XI to face Barcelona after a week out injured, sank to the ground clutching his calf.
Much was made of the £85million man's seemingly successful race to be fit for El Clasico. In the end, he lasted just 38 minutes.
Asked if he regretted rushing Bale back for the game, manager Zinedine Zidane replied: "He said he was fine and excited to play and thought he was fine. I don’t regret it.
"I'm disappointed for him because he wanted to play and this is something we can’t control. Tomorrow we’ll have a look and see what injury he has and I hope he’ll not be out long.”
Bale, too, will hope he is not out for long. He has made just 26 appearances for Real Madrid this season, and only 10 of those have seen him last 90 minutes.
There are just six league games left for Real Madrid, and it is feasible he could miss them all.
Few at the Bernabeu will want to admit it, but Bale's persistent fitness problems are becoming a cause for concern.
The Welshman, still only 27, has suffered 17 separate injuries during his time in Madrid. Eight of those have been in his calf (two on his right, six on his left). Other injuries include problems with his hip, ankle tendons, knee and hamstrings.
In 2014/15 Bale played 4,200 minutes for Real. Last season, he managed just over half that. This season, he is on course for an even smaller total.
By comparison, elder team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo — who has himself endured a succession of back, knee and thigh injuries — has averaged 4,208 minutes per season. That average will certainly be higher by the end of the season.
So, should Real be concerned about Bale?
Injury specialist Ed Clarke of Pure Sports Medicine — who have worked with athletes like Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill, as well as numerous Premier League clubs — says any player with Bale's injury record needs to be carefully managed, particularly as they approach the latter stages of their careers.
"A history of previous injury is often the biggest risk factor for injuries and, as players reach the latter stages of their careers, most of them will have experienced injuries," Clarke tells Mirror Sport.
"The biggest problem is often maintaining fitness during the period in which the player is injured. You obviously need a high level of physical conditioning to participate in a game of the intensity of El Clasico. Often the injury itself, particularly in the case of lower limb muscle injuries, will prevent the high intensity training necessary to maintain fitness."
But it is not all doom and gloom, says Clarke, who believes a summer without international commitments could provide the platform for better fitness.
"Evidence has shown a good pre-season is vital to minimising injury risk so using the off-season to work on strength and conditioning is essential," he adds. "This will be easier to plan with fewer international commitments this summer."
Regardless of whether Bale's fitness levels improve next season, it looks like Real Madrid will be without him for at least some of this season's crucial run-in.
Zidane said he did not regret the decision to risk Bale against Barcelona, but with the club's first league title since 2012 at stake, as well as a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid to come, he might live to.