Aston Villa defender Jores Okore will be sidelined for up to nine months after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage.
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Okore limped off after half an hour of Villa's 2-1 defeat by Newcastle on Saturday following an innocuous collision with Newcastle striker Loic Remy.
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He was sent for an MRI scan, which revealed the Ivory Coast-born star had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
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The 21-year-old Denmark international was signed from Nordsjaelland for £4 million in the close-season, but may not play again for the rest of the current campaign.
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A Villa statement read: "Following clinical examination and the results of an MRI scan, the club can confirm that Jores Okore sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the game against Newcastle on Saturday.
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"Jores will undergo surgery in due course and he could be sidelined for a period of up to nine months."
This whole injury of a thing is something no player wants to have right now. That's a disadvantage to football!