Spain's national team and club forward Fernando Morientes suffered a shoulder injury in Wednesday's 2008 European Championship qualifying match against Iceland, and will not be able to play for three or even four weeks.
The former Real Madrid player fell awkwardly onto the ground at the end of the first half in the 1-0 victory over Iceland on Wednesday, dislocating his right shoulder and was immediately substituted.
The footballer, who will turn 31 on April 4th, will miss next week's (Wednesday) first leg of Valencia's UEFA Champions League quarter-final match against English champions Chelsea in London due to the injury. It is believed that the forward will not recover in time for the second leg match in Valencia the following week.
"He injured his shoulder, and he will need two weeks of rest and another week to fully recover. So he won't play for about three or four weeks," said Spain's team doctor Genaro Borras to the media. "This is not the first time that Fernando Morientes has had problems with his shoulder, so he will need time to recover."
Having moved to Valencia this season, F. Morientes has already scored 12 goals in the "Primera" league championship and has scored 5 goals in 7 matches in the UEFA Champions League.