Schalke 04 defender Matija Nastasic has been ruled out for six months after injuring his Achilles tendon on the first day of the new Bundesliga season.
Despite starting the campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory away to Werder Bremen on Saturday afternoon, there was concern for Schalke boss Andre Breitenreiter early in the match when Nastasic was forced to come off.
It has been confirmed that the Serbian was forced to undergo surgery this evening and Schalke could now be without the central defender for most of the season.
Nastasic signed a four-year deal with the Gelsenkirchen club in March after initially joining on loan from Manchester City in January.