West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a torn ligament in his knee.
Carroll, 26, was forced off in Wednesday's 0-0 draw at Southampton as the Hammers finished the game with only nine men, having already used all three substitutes with goalkeeper Adrian sent off earlier in the match.
Having missed the start of the season and much of last year with injuries it is yet another setback for Carroll.
A statement on the club's official website said the player would have surgery on Tuesday before beginning the recovery process.
INJURY UPDATE: @AndyTCarroll will have surgery on his injured left knee on Tuesday - http://t.co/lIHkQhOoP5 #WHUFC pic.twitter.com/1D7onksLs6
- West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) February 13, 2015
Manager Sam Allarydce had hoped that the England international would miss six weeks at most, but a scan has now revealed he will not play again until after the summer.
"I think a full diagnosis is yet to come, it will probably be by the end of the day," he said earlier on Friday. "It is likely to be a few weeks, the medial ligament on the side of his knee has a tear in it from a fairly innocuous collision.
"Hopefully [he will only miss] four to six weeks if we are lucky, depending on Andy's recovery rate. It is a big blow for his and a big blow for us but it is one we have to cope with.
"It is traumatic when someone is going through a period when in a short time they overcome one injury and another occurs."
West Ham take on West Brom in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.