Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been ruled out until 2018 after he sustained a broken foot in training on Monday.
The injury is a recurrence of the hairline fracture to a metatarsal in his left foot that he picked up during the Champions League quarter-final second-leg defeat to Real Madrid in April.
The 31-year-old underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning and has had a plate fitted — which will rule him out for four months.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club’s official website:
“Manuel Neuer has sustained another injury and we’re incredibly sorry for him.
“The operation went perfectly, which is the most important thing for now. We and our captain are now looking to the future. Manuel will be back to his previous best and available to us again in January.”