Birmingham forward James McFadden is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after injuring his left knee in training on Friday.
The Scotland international, who had been expected to make his fifth start of the Premier League campaign against West Brom on Saturday, has sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage.
And a statement on Blues’ official website read: “McFadden will see a specialist on Monday with a view to surgery and will be out of action for the foreseeable future.”
McFadden will now miss Scotland’s crucial Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Spain next month, and the news will disappoint boss Craig Levein despite his recent criticism of the player.
But Levein, whose own career was ended by a knee injury, is confident the 27-year-old will bounce back from the injury.
He said: “I know more than anyone how devastating a cruciate ligament injury can be and my sympathies go to James.
“Having said that, he’s a strong character and I’m sure he will overcome it.
“I’m not even going to get into what this means for Scotland because at this stage the most important thing is that he recovers and can get his career back on track.
“On behalf of the squad, the backroom staff and I’m sure the Scotland supporters, I wish him a speedy recovery.”