There are fears that Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger could miss the rest of the season and may be in doubt for this summer's European Championships with Germany because of a knee injury.
The 31-year-old will miss international friendlies against England and Italy after suffering the problem in training with Germany on Wednesday.
The world champions' head coach Joachim Low uncovered more details of Schweinsteiger's injury, indicating that he could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a torn ligament.
"It's the medial ligament again," BBC Sport quotes Low as saying. "I am not able to give an exact time scale as to how long he will be out, but it doesn't look very positive and it could be that there is a tear in the ligament."
A statement from the German national team was released in the afternoon, confirming that the midfielder suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Schweinsteiger had also recently returned to action following a two-month spell on the sidelines.
