Barcelona have now confirmed that striker Samuel Eto'o will miss the next
five months of the season after undergoing surgery on his knee.
The Cameroon international tore the meniscus in his right knee during
Wednesday's 1-1 UEFA Champions League draw at Werder Bremen and was
stretchered off as a consequence.
It was initially thought that the former Real Madrid and Real Mallorca
hit-man would miss up to three months of the current campaign with the
problem.
However, the 25-year-old has opted to have the damaged meniscus repaired in
his right knee rather than have it removed - thus extending his recovery to
five months.
Eto'o will now miss the rest of the calendar year with Frank Rijkaard's side
and is not likely to return to the Barca squad until the end of February
next year.
The African goalscorer's absence is sure to give the likes of Eidur
Gudjohnsen a chance of a regular run in Rijkaard's side in the weeks to
come.