Borussia Dortmund holding midfielder Sebastian Kehl is set for a month on the sidelines after suffering a shoulder injury during a friendly against Steaua Bucharest.
Kehl, 34, recently entered the final half season of his career after announcing he will retire from professional football in the summer of 2015.
The former Dortmund captain only recently reiterated the plan remains intact amid calls to prolong his career, but on Tuesday Kehl suffered an injury blow which sees his career shortened by at least a month.
"Midfielder Sebastian Kehl suffered a separated shoulder in the friendly against Steaua Bucharest last Saturday," BVB announced on their official website, adding that the former club captain is set "to miss four weeks through the shoulder injury."
Gute Besserung, Kevin und Basti! // Get well soon, Kevin Großkreutz and Sebastian Kehl! #bvblive pic.twitter.com/ydBTPGF240
- Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) January 17, 2015
Midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz also suffered an injury on Saturday and has been ruled out for a week with an ankle problem, while holding midfielder Sven Bender is not expected back before early February following knee surgery in earlier in January.
Left-back Erik Durm suffered a hamstring injury and will also not be fit in time for the restart of the Bundesliga in 11 days, while midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and attacker Adrian Ramos have yet to return to team training.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa and Mitch Langerak are representing their national teams at the ongoing continental championships in Equatorial Guinea (African Nations Cup) and Australia (AFC Asian Cup).
The 2013 Champions League finalists have fallen from grace during the first half of the Bundesliga season, and are currently spending the winter break in the relegation zone. BVB resume their campaign with an away match at third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Jan. 31.