Atletico Madrid have suffered their second serious injury blow in a week with attacking midfielder Martin Petrov facing a six-month spell on the sidelines.
The Bulgarian international damaged knee ligaments during his team's 2-1 Primera Liga triumph over Recreativo Huelva on Saturday.
The news comes just days after team-mate Maxi Rodriguez suffered the same injury while on international duty with Argentina in their friendly defeat against Spain.
The club have confirmed that Petrov, like winger Rodriguez, will undergo surgery next week and both are expected to be out of action for at least six months.
More terrible news for Athletico, having 2 of their best attacking players injured for 6 months in the space of 4 days is unbelievable.