Injury prone Greek national team defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos picked up a shoulder injury on Monday and underwent surgery on the same evening. It is likely to see him out until the start of next year.
Papadopoulos suffered the injury in the final training session before Bayer Leverkusen travelled to St.Petersburg, as die Werkself prepare to face Zenit in their fourth Champions League Group Stage game.
"Kyriakos Papadopoulos underwent successful surgery on Monday evening in Herne on his shoulder," read the tweet from the club's official Twitter page. The on-loan Schalke defender had dislocated his shoulder back in September, but this time it's been more serious. He was operated on by Professor Georgias Godolias at the St. Anna Hospital in Herne, the good news is that it was a success.
Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler said, "It's a really bitter blow for us and, above all, for him," he said. "He was just getting up to speed and scoring important goals." Papadopoulos is set to miss a major part of Leverkusen's Hinrunde, arguably the busiest and worst time of the season. He'll miss the remainder of the Bundesliga games, including matches against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim; as well as the final three ties of the Champions League group stages.