Barcelona 4 Al-Sadd 0:Barcelona forward David Villa is a major doubt for Euro 2012 after he broke his left leg during his side's 4-0 Club World Cup semi-final victory over Al Sadd of Qatar in Japan this morning.

Villa, Spain's all-time top scorer with 50 goals in 81 appearances for his country, fell awkwardly in the first half and immediately signalled to the bench before being rushed to a local hospital in Yokohama.

"David has fractured his leg and will return to Barcelona for an operation as soon as possible," Barca coach Pep Guardiola said after the European champions set up a final against Brazil's Santos. "We are all very sad for him. He's a charming personality and it's a massive blow for the team.

"He will be out for a long time. I don't know how long but it takes a long time to return after a break like this. All the players are very worried about David. We hope he will return as soon as possible. Our thoughts are with him and we will have to win the Club World Cup without him."

Spanish champions Barca said it was the first injury Villa had sustained since joining the club from Valencia last year. The news is a major setback for Guardiola as his side pursues titles in the Club World Cup, La Liga, the Champions League and the King's Cup this season.

With the European championships under six months away, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque will also have to plan wihtout Villa, who was crucial to their victorious World Cup campaign in South Africa last year, scoring five of their eight goals on the way to lifting the trophy.

Spain are due to face the Republic of Ireland in Gdansk on June 14th, in the second of their three games in a group that also consists of Italy and Croatia.