Embolo out for up to six months

Schalke 04's teenage striker Breel Embolo has been ruled out for up to six months due to a fractured ankle that is worse than first thought, his Bundesliga club said on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Swiss international was stretchered off after 25 minutes of Saturday's 1-1 draw at Augsburg, which left them 16th in the Bundesliga, after a clumsy tackle from defender Konstantinos Stafylidis, who was booked.

Embolo had been expected to miss the rest of 2016, but after undergoing surgery, it was revealed he has not only fractured the fibula bone, but also torn ankle ligaments.

The initial prognosis is that Embolo will miss between four to six months, but club doctors will have a better idea after the first two months of rehabilitation.

"This injury has shocked all of Schalke," admitted director of sport Christan Heidel.

"We've all seen Breel identify with the club and he has already developed into a very important player in just a short period of time, plus he's just 19 years old.

"We will give Breel every kind of support, so that after this serious injury he will be able to return to the level he's at now that he's had to stop."

This is a bitter blow for Embolo, for whom Schalke paid FC Basel 22 million euros ($24.5 million) in June.

He scored his first two goals for Schalke in their 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach a fortnight ago which took them off the foot of the Bundesliga table.

He is the second new signing Schalke have lost to injury recently.

Spanish defender Coke, who they signed from Sevilla in July for five million euros, suffered a serious knee injury just a week after joining the German club.