Luka Modric could be ruled out for the rest of the season after tests confirmed the Real Madrid midfield has suffered ligament damage in his right knee.
The Croatian international suffered the injury during Madrid's 3-1 Liga victory over Malaga at the Bernabeu on Saturday night and he is set for a spell of around six weeks on the sidelines.
He will definitely be absent from Madrid's crucial Champions League quarter-final second leg clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and he is set to be sidelined for the rest of the Liga campaign. If Madrid do reach the Champions League, to be played in Berlin on June 6, Modric will face a race against time to be fit and ready.
Madrid released a statement on Modric's injury on Sunday morning: "Following tests carried out on Luka Modric at the La Moraleja Sanitas Hospital by Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been found to have a strain to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee. His situation will be monitored."
The news is a big blow to Madrid's title and European Cup aspirations, with the former Tottenham Hotspur man a key cog in coach Carlo Ancelotti's starting line-up.
Modric has suffered an injury-ravaged season, having only recently returned from a four month lay-off due to a hamstring injury.