Zlatan Ibrahimovic will suffer with his problematic heel throughout the season and "will not play every game," Paris Saint-Germain's team doctor has warned.
Ibrahimovic, 33, missed seven weeks of the campaign between mid-September and early-November due to the injury, which medical staff at the Ligue 1 club and with his national team Sweden have struggled to resolve.
After playing in PSG's previous three league games, including the full 90 minutes in the last two, the striker was rested for Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Lille.
And he may again sit out when Laurent Blanc's men face Nantes on Saturday, with a view to facing Barcelona in the Champions League next week.
According to PSG doctor Eric Rolland, supporters of the French champions are likely to see last season's Ligue 1 leading scorer sidelined several more times during the season.
"He still has pain in his heel. It's pain that can change in intensity," he told RMC. "Recently, it hasn't gotten worse, but it will be present until the end of the season. Zlatan will not play every game. He just wanted to look after himself ahead of the trip to Barcelona."
In Ibrahimovic's absence, Edinson Cavani scored PSG's goal against Lille as Blanc's side missed out on the opportunity to go top of the Ligue 1 table.
The PSG boss acknowledged that he had been forced to leave Ibrahimovic out ahead of a frenetic list of fixtures building up to Christmas.
"We decided to rest him, because he had played three games in a row," Blanc said. "He needed to take a breather and to work so he can be ready for the five games to come. His injury is behind him, but you don't easily get rid of the pain.
"Playing every three days was a risk we preferred to avoid. In agreement with the player, we decided very early on that he would be rested at Lille."