Watkins, 25, has impressed with eight goals this season and has been a regular starter either up front or on the wing. He had an operation on his jaw after damaging it against Oldham on Tuesday. Watkins, who had only recently returned from a different injury, tweeted on Saturday to say: "Broke jaw v Oldham, surgery last night. Out for rest of season. The training for next season starts here. Come on you Reds, big promotion push."

Head coach Paul Heckingbottom said: "It's a big blow. It didn't even cross our mind that he had a broken jaw until after the game but that's just typical of Marley. It's more disappointing for him than for us. He gives everything, he's a tough lad and you can never question his application. We were loving having him back and we'll miss him."

Meanwhile, White missed Saturday's draw at Burton with an abdominal problem while the other left-back Smith joined his fellow teenaged academy product Bree in having a hamstring issue. That meant that Josh Scowen had to play out of position at right-back with George Williams on the left.

Heckingbottom admits he wishes he still had loanee Callum Connolly who can play at left or right-back but returned to Everton after the Reds could not promise him regular gametime before the injuries to White, Bree and Smith. 

The Barnsley boss said: "It’s sod’s law. We wanted to keep Callum Connolly but we didn’t think he’d get games so Everton called him back and now we have three full-backs injured. Aidy might be back for Peterborough on Tuesday but we're not sure about the others."