Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke says Darragh Canavan will be "a big loss" for the remainder of the league as the Red Hands seek to "fight our way out" of a relegation battle in Division Two.
His side's 1-15 to 0-13 defeat by Louth in Ardee leaves them with three points from four games, level with Kildare and one point above Cavan in the drop zone.
At the outset of the campaign, Tyrone were regarded as one of the favourites for promotion and while they are not out of the running with three games to go, finishing in the top two seems like a long shot.
The task is made tougher with Canavan setting off for a month in Australia and O'Rourke is not downplaying the prospect of finishing the league campaign without the star forward.
"It (Louth defeat) puts us back down in the relegation battle, something we didn't want, but that's where we find ourselves, and we're just going to have to fight our way out of it," O'Rourke said.
"A quality player like Darragh is going to be a big loss, and obviously, we could do without it, but we have to go on with what we have.
"With everyone else, it's a case of just really digging in and understanding that we have to produce performances and see how things go from there."
Tyrone host bottom of the table Offaly in Dungannon on Saturday (18:00 GMT, live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport NI website) and O'Rourke expects a "massive battle" against a team co-managed by Mickey Harte who delivered three All-Ireland titles during his managerial tenure with the Red Hands.
The current incumbent feels there is enough belief within the squad to park the Louth defeat and respond this week.
"After a loss like this, it's obviously hard with a week's turnaround to pick them up," he added.
"There's a lot of experience in there, and a lot of character in there. Hopefully, we'll be able to pick them up this week, but it's a tough loss."