Lyon confirm Nabil Fekir will miss six months

Lyon (AFP) – France international striker Nabil Fekir will undergo knee surgery on Monday after picking up the serious injury playing against Portugal last week, his Ligue 1 club, Lyon, confirmed.

The operation will be carried out by Dr. Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet in the private Jean-Mermoz Hospital in Lyon in southeast France.

Fekir, 22, lasted just 13 minutes of his first international start in a 1-0 friendly victory against Portugal in Lisbon before succumbing to what was later confirmed as a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

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The Lyon star, who made his full international debut against Brazil in March and has won five caps, will be out for around six months and already faces a race against time to recover form and fitness before the European Championship.

France coach Didier Deschamps described the long-term loss of the exciting Lyon attacker as a “body blow” for the Euro 2016 hosts.

Fakir, who had one goal and one assist through four league appearances this season, enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2014-15, recording 13 goals and seven assists as Lyon mounted a surprise challenge to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1.