Atletico Madrid captain Gabi will undergo surgery on Tuesday after suffering a fractured hand.
The experienced midfielder has been a near ever-present so far this season, playing in 24 of Atletico's 26 LaLiga matches, but his participating for the next few weeks is now in doubt.
A "domestic incident" is reportedly to blame for the issue, with Gabi playing the full 90 minutes in Atletico's comfortable 3-0 dismantling of Valencia on Sunday.
Atletico will be eager for Gabi to return as quickly as possible due to the long-term absences of Tiago and Augusto Fernandez.
But in their statement, Atletico made no reference as to whether Gabi will play on while wearing protective casting or simply be ruled out for a few weeks, with Thomas Partey the most likely replacement in that scenario.
"Gabi has undergone tests that have confirmed that he suffers a metacarpal fracture that affects the fourth and fifth metacarpal of the right hand," the statement read.
"Due to this injury our captain will undergo surgery on Tuesday to reduce the fracture and fix it in a stable way."
