Southampton's Fraser Forster will miss the remainder of the Premier League season after undergoing surgery on his knee.
The England goalkeeper sustained damage to his left patella tendon early in the weekend's 2-0 win over Burnley and after a successful operation will be sidelined for the rest of the campaign.
An injury such as this could see Forster out of action for between nine and 12 months but the Saints will not put a timeframe on his return until the can assess him further.
Southampton's executive director of football Les Reed told the club's official website: "Fraser is an outstanding goalkeeper and has been a huge part of our success this season. While this is a challenging situation, we look forward to him returning to action as soon as he is fully fit.
"I am sure he will go on to make a significant number of appearances for Southampton and for England, and will get the best support available to help him recover to do so."
STATEMENT: #SaintsFC goalkeeper @FraserForster undergoes surgery on damaged patellar tendon - http://t.co/zo1zyFgBC0pic.twitter.com/iMHDNDgR6C
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 25, 2015
