The New England Patriots may be 4-0, but they suffered a tough blow this week, as it was announced that long-time kicker Stephen Gostkowski will miss the rest of the season as a result of a hip injury that will require surgery.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Patriots are looking at Mike Nugent and Kai Forbath as potential replacements.

Obviously, this is a position New England is going to have to fill immediately, so the Pats are going to need to make their decision pretty swiftly.

Nugent last appeared in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders last season, kicking in three games and making all six of his field-goal attempts and four of his five extra points.

The 37-year-old spent the first four seasons of his career with the New York Jets, making 75 of his 92 field-goal tries with the club. He then split the 2009 campaign between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals before catching on with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he spent the bulk of his NFL career.

Nugent converted 157 of his 192 field goals in seven years with the Bengals. Since then, he has spent time with the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and the Raiders.

Meanwhile, Forbath does not have nearly as much experience, as he entered the NFL with the Washington Redskins in 2012. In three-plus seasons with the Redskins, he made 60 of his 69 field-goal attempts.

Since then, the 32-year-old has kicked for the New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars.

He last appeared in the NFL with the Jaguars last season, making four of five field goals over three games.