Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Fatau, currently on loan at Rayo Vallecano from Granada for the season, has been sidelined with a thigh muscle tear, which is worse than originally anticipated.
The 21-year-old was injured during the encounter with AlmerÃa last weekend in La Liga.
Ahead of the Copa del Rey match against Valencia on Thursday night, the club has revealed the thigh muscle has suffered more damage than was initially diagnosed.
Further and more detailed examinations show that Fatau has suffered a muscle fibre tear in the femoral biceps in his left thigh and as such, no return to action is predicted for at least six weeks, whilst the player recovers fully.
Signed on loan from Granada this summer, the midfielder has taken time to settle in and hadn’t featured frequently so far, with the start against AlmerÃa only his second in La Liga for Rayo.
However, manager Paco Jémez suggested that the news the player will now be unavailable until after Christmas, is still a blow to his plans, given his desire to utilise Fatau more over the coming weeks.