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Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt has been ruled out for an unspecified period of time after suffering a knee ligament injury in Wednesday's 2-1 German Cup loss to third-tier Saarbruecken, the club said on Thursday.
The Dutch international had to be taken off in the 24th minute of their second-round match.
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"Matthijs de Ligt sustained a partial tear of the ligament in his right knee joint," the German champions said in a statement.
"That's the outcome of a scan carried out by the club's medical department on Thursday. Centre-back de Ligt will therefore miss FC Bayern's upcoming games."
De Ligt has made 10 appearances for Bayern this season in all competitions. Getty
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said it appeared to be a repeat of a knee injury that De Ligt suffered in September which sidelined him for three weeks.
"It's the same knee again, the same capsule [in the joint] again. It's very painful but there is currently no diagnosis yet," he said.
De Ligt's injury present Tuchel with a defensive injury crisis ahead of Saturday's Der Klassiker at Borussia Dortmund.
Joshua Kimmich, who dropped back into defence alongside Kim Min-Jae on Wednesday after De Ligt went off, is suspended for the game owing to a red card he picked up last week. Meanwhile Davot Upamecano, the only other specialist center-back at the club, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury that has kept him out for a month.
Bayern are in second place in the Bundesliga two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Information from Associated Press was used in this report
Source: espn.co.uk