Burnley midfielder Steven Defour will undergo knee surgery to repair damaged cartilage and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines, manager Sean Dyche said.
Belgian international Defour has started 24 league games this season and played through pain in recent weeks before a precautionary scan revealed the extent of the injury.
'Defour will have an operation after seeing a specialist, it's a real blow,' Dyche said. 'It's come out of the blue, he'd been playing on and felt a soreness in his knee, he played with it for a few weeks.
'We took him for a scan, one of those ones you probably wish you wouldn't have, and it showed something that needs doing, it's a bit of cartilage.