Barcelona striker Luis Suarez is set to be sidelined for four months after undergoing keyhole surgery on his right knee, the Spanish champions have announced.
The 32-year-old Uruguay international went under the knife on Sunday and is now facing a battle to play again this season.
Barcelona’s final LaLiga match is scheduled for the weekend of May 23/24, with the date of the Champions League final – Ernesto Valverde’s side will face Napoli in the last 16 – being May 30.
A statement on Barca’s official website said: “The first team player, Luis Suárez has been operated on this Sunday by Dr Ramon Cugat, who used keyhole surgery to resolve an injury to the external meniscus of the right knee by performing a suture.
“The Uruguayan striker will be out for approximately four months.”
Suarez played the whole match on Thursday as Barcelona lost their Spanish Super Cup semi-final 3-2 to Atletico Madrid in Saudi Arabia.
The former Ajax and Liverpool frontman has scored 14 goals, 11 of them in LaLiga, in 23 appearances for the league leaders to date this season.
He also has seven assists to his name, the most of any player in Spain’s top flight.
