Barcelona midfielder Rafinha will miss the rest of the season after the Catalan club revealed he will be sidelined for the next four months with a knee problem.
The Brazilian injured the meniscus in his right knee during Barca's 4-1 win over Granada last weekend and underwent surgery on Friday.
It is the latest setback for a player who has suffered a number of injury problems since returning to the club from a loan spell at Celta Vigo when Luis Enrique took charge in 2014.
"Rafinha has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to resolve an injury to the internal meniscus," Barca confirmed in a statement.
"The operation was carried out by Dr. Ramon Cugat and Dr. Ricard Pruna. The player will be out for around four months."
Rafinha, 24, had been one of the biggest benefactors of Luis Enrique's recent switch to a 3-4-3 formation.
Finding a home on the right of the front three, with Lionel Messi pushed into the middle, he started important games against Celta Vigo, Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia.
However, once again, he finds himself sidelined with an injury at the most inopportune moment.
He missed the majority of last season after damaging his cruciate ligaments in a Champions League game against Roma, ruling him out for six months.
And he then missed the majority of preseason at the beginning of the current campaign with muscle problems, before spending further time out of action with with bruised ribs, an Achilles tendon problem and then, most recently, a broken nose.
Speaking in a news conference on Friday before the severity of the injury was confirmed, Luis Enrique said: "He's the player who has played the most [on the right of the attacking three] and he's ideal for that position, but I repeat: I have infinite options and ways to solve that situation.
"We just hope Rafa recovers soon as possible, that it's not serious and he's back playing as soon as possible."