Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has revealed he could be out for as long as six months after fracturing his metatarsal in September.
The 31-year-old has seen game time limited in 2017, having initially suffered the injury in the second leg of Bayern's Champions League quarter-final defeat to Real Madrid in April.
Neuer missed the remainder of the season and, after a brief comeback at the beginning of this campaign, the Germany number one experienced a repeat in training, with Bayern saying at the time that he would be unlikely to feature before January.
Now Neuer has spoken about the issue himself, conceding that a January return might be a little optimistic.
"The wound has to stay clean and heal by itself," he told FCBayern.tv.
"Then the healing within the foot takes place. That can even take half a year."
Neuer will miss a large chunk of Bayern's season, but he is expected to recover in time to feature for Germany at the 2018 World Cup.
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