German football club Schalke has announced that captain Benedikt Hoewedes will be sidelined for the next 10 days due to a fracture.
Schalke's worst fears were confirmed on Sunday as centre-back Hoewedes suffered a metacarpal fracture in his right hand following tackle with FC Ingolstadt's Lukas Hinterseer in the 72nd minute of their Bundesliga match on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Howedes, 27, received treatment on the pitch and completed the game. However, the German international had to undergo a surgery on Sunday and will thus miss the Europa League encounter against Czech outfit Sparta Praha and the Bundesliga local derby against Borussia Dortmund.
After the 1-1 draw with newly promoted Ingolstadt, Schalke slipped from the third to the fourth place in the Bundesliga standings.
