Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has revealed that defender Robert Huth is likely to undergo knee surgery.
Huth was withdrawn near the end of Stoke's 2-0 victory over Sunderland last weekend, and Hughes believes that the former Chelsea player could be missing for "a number of weeks".
The 50-year-old told reporters: "We had hoped that we would be able to manage him through it.
"But it looks like he will have to have an operation on it, so we are going to lose him for a number of weeks."
The German centre-back has played in each of Stoke's 12 Premier League fixtures this season.