Eintracht Frankfurt will be without centre back Carlos Zambrano for up to four weeks after he broke his toe in the 2-1 defeat at Stuttgart on Sunday.

EmpicsCarlos Zambrano joined the club from St Pauli

Zambrano, 23, was forced to leave the pitch after 83 minutes - just a minute before Stuttgart striker Vedad Ibisevic scored the decisive winner.

The loss meant the season's surprise package dropped down to third place in the Bundesliga, overtaken by Schalke, who saw off Nurnberg on Saturday.

The injury comes at a frustrating time for the club with the Peru international likely to miss important trips to league leaders Bayern Munich and Schalke.

Zambrano may be replaced by Norway international Vadim Demidov, who signed for the club from Real Sociedad over the summer.

Frankfurt will face Greuther Furth on Friday and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten record at home.