Hamburg SV's Dutch defender Joris Mathijsen faces a period out after he picked up an ankle injury during an international friendly match against Turkey in midweek.
Mathijsen returned to Hamburg with his leg in plaster and will have to wait some days for further tests to determine the length of his absence.
"At the moment his leg is still too swollen to do anything," club spokesman Joern Wolf told reporters. Hamburg play away at Hanover on Saturday.
"The crutches are gone and that is a big step. If we are all healthy then we can launch an attack for the top spot," he told the Bundesliga website.
Hoffenheim's Nigerian striker Chinedu Obasi will need to undergo surgery in his left shinbone after the nagging injury he picked up during the World Cup has not healed properly, the club said.
