Shortly into the 1978–79 season, Beattie suffered problems with his other knee. Two further operations followed, and he was confined to treatment and physiotherapy, only, in his words, "wheeled out for the really big games". Overall, he made 26 appearances that season, scoring twice. The 1979–80 season saw him make just 12 appearances, twice as substitute, and score twice, as his post-match recuperation took weeks, not days. He also played a "bit-part" in the 1980–81 season, usually as a striker instead of his usual position of centre-half. However, his defensive role in the two-leg victory over the Czechoslovakian team Bohemians, in the second round of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup, for which he was awarded man of the match, proved vital to Ipswich's season. Although irregularly selected as a result of his injuries, Beattie played in the fourth round, first leg 4–1 away victory over AS Saint-Étienne, whose team included Michel Platini and Johnny Rep. Ipswich won the home leg 3–1 without Beattie. He played his last match for Ipswich in April 1981, in an FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City in which he broke his arm. Ipswich won the UEFA Cup at the end of the season, but Beattie was not presented with a winner's medal as he did not play in the final or even appear on the bench, through injury; 26 years later, a petition was organised by Rob Finch, the writer of Beattie's 2007 biography "The Greatest Footballer England Never Had", calling on UEFA to right the wrong. Beattie was finally awarded a medal by UEFA president Michel Platini at the 2008 UEFA Cup Final between Rangers and Zenit Saint Petersburg.