Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba will be out for at least three months with a knee injury, ruling him out of Zimbabwe's Africa Cup of Nations campaign next month.
The 27-year-old, who was forced off during Villa's 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday, had an operation on the injury this week.
"The surgeon is really happy with how it's gone and now he'll start his recovery process and recovery plan," Villa boss Steven Gerrard told the club website.
"He's going to be missing for somewhere in the region of 12 weeks if it is a fantastic rehab or it could be up to 16 weeks.