Barcelona have confirmed David Villa is set to be sidelined for between "four and five months" after the Spain striker broke his shinbone in Thursday's 4-0 Club World Cup semi-final victory over Al-Sadd.
The 30-year-old was carried off on a stretcher six minutes before half-time and Barça announced soon after that he had suffered a "fracture to the tibia in his left leg". The player was taken to hospital in Yokohama for further tests.
An updated statement on the Barça website read: "In the coming hours, Villa will return to Barcelona, via Frankfurt, to be operated on. He will be accompanied by doctor Ricard Pruna and Manel Estiarte. The approximate time he will be sidelined is between four and five months."
Villa remains optimistic he will be back in time for the European Championship, and also hopes he will be able to feature in the Champions League final in Munich on 19 May if the defending champions get that far.
In a message posted on his Facebook page, Villa said: "Hello everyone. Thanks for your support. The injury is a tough blow, but I'm sure that I'm going to recover as soon as possible, thinking about playing the final in Munich (I know my team-mates will take me there) and the European Championships.
"I'm going to work hard for it. I want them to count on me. Tomorrow I'll be in Spain. A big hug."
The news means Villa is likely to miss the majority of Barça's La Liga and Champions League campaigns, but could be available to world and European champions Spain for Euro 2012, which begins in June.
On Wednesday Guardiola had denied the club had been actively trying to sell the 30-year-old Villa only 19 months into the four-year deal agreed following his €40m (£33.5m) transfer from Valencia.
Villa has scored five times in 15 league appearances this season, following his 18 goals in 34 games as Barça won the Primera División title last season.
source:www.guardian.co.uk
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