Stoke City have confirmed that Bojan Krkic will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The 24-year-old suffered the injury in the first half of last night's FA Cup fourth-round victory at Rochdale after opening the scoring at Spotland.

Reports emerged earlier today that the former Barcelona man had damaged knee ligaments and the club have now confirmed the news.

Potters boss Mark Hughes told the club website: "It's bitterly disappointing for the club but even more so for Bojan himself as he was making such a big impact on the Premier League and clearly enjoying his football. We wish him a speedy recovery."

It is expected that the forward will not be able to return to action for around nine months, which could mean that he might not feature again until October.