Paris Saint-Germain have announced that French defender Nordi Mukiele will not play again this season as he prepares to undergo surgery on a hamstring injury.
The former RB Leipzig man - who arrived in Paris last summer - has not played for the French champions since sustaining his problem against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last month.
Mukiele had come off the bench to replace the injured Marquinhos in the second leg of their last-16 clash at the Allianz Arena, but he lasted just eight minutes before being withdrawn himself.
The 25-year-old has subsequently missed each of PSG's last four Ligue 1 matches, and the Parisiens have now announced that his issue is serious enough to require surgery.
Mukiele will go under the knife in Finland later on Tuesday, and he has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign as he begins the long road to recovery.
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"Nordi Mukiele is suffering from a serious hamstring injury. To minimise the risk of recurrence, the Paris Saint-Germain medical staff opted for an operation," a medical update read.
"The operation will be performed in Finland today and will keep him out of action until the end of the season."
Mukiele ends his debut season at PSG with three assists from 25 matches across all competitions, starting 12 games in Ligue 1 but just one in their short-lived Champions League campaign.
The France international also missed eight games between January and February with another hamstring problem, and his latest setback exacerbates PSG's well-documented injury crisis since the turn of the year.
Manager Christophe Galtier has already lost Neymar (ankle) and Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles) to season-ending injuries, while long-serving midfielder Marco Verratti missed the weekend's win over Nice with a hamstring problem.
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Left-back Juan Bernat was also missing from the clash with Les Aiglons due to an ankle injury, and the luckless Renato Sanches - making just his seventh start of the season - came off after 10 minutes with an adductor problem.
In the same medical update, PSG revealed that the 25-year-old - who has already missed 16 games this season - is expected to return to training in three to four weeks, putting him at risk of missing the rest of the season if his recovery is slower than expected.
Despite consistently struggling to stay fit during his maiden campaign at the Parc des Princes, Sanches has allegedly complained to the PSG board about his lack of minutes, having failed to complete a full 90 all season long.
Galtier's side sit six points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table with eight games left to play and are next in action at home to second-placed Lens in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown.
Ben Knapton
