Schalke captain Benedikt Howedes is facing a three-month spell on the sidelines, the club have confirmed.
Howedes, 27, was initially expected to return in late February following a muscle injury sustained in the club's winter training camp in Florida.
The Germany centre-back injured his right thigh during the 2-0 win against Fort Lauderdale Strikers last week and immediately returned home, but further examinations revealed Howedes also damaged his tendon.
#Heldt zur #Höwedes-Verletzung: Gehen nach weiterer Untersuchung von einer Pause bis zu 12 Wochen aus. #S04 pic.twitter.com/g9Ns0NEEkt
- FC Schalke 04 (@s04) January 18, 2016
Schalke will now have to do without their skipper for up to three months, the club's sporting director Horst Heldt confirmed after a 1-0 friendly defeat against second-tier club Arminia Bielefeld.
Coach Andre Breitenreiter told the club's official website: "That's very unfortunate for us because Bene is a very important player, and we'll have to do without him for a number of weeks.
"It will not be that easy to compensate the loss, he's a leader and our captain after all."
The 2014 World Cup winner already missed parts of the first half of the season because of two injuries, starting just eight matches for the Royal Blues this term.