Schalke 04 have been dealt another injury blow ahead of Sunday's Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen with centre-back Salif Sane ruled out for the rest of the 2019-20 season.
Sane suffered a muscle strain during the week after playing 90 minutes in the Royal Blues’ 1-1 draw against Union Berlin last Saturday.
The Senegalese defender joins Morocco international Amine Harit who is nursing a ligament injury since May 16 on the treatment table alongside fellow centre-backs Matija Nastasic and Jean-Clair Todibo, captain Omar Mascarell, Guido Burgstaller and Suat Serdar.
The injury comes as a blow for David Wagner's side who are on a 12-game winless run in the German top-flight and they are chasing their first Bundesliga victory since January 17.
Schalke 04 are 10th in the league table and they will be hoping to grab their first points in an empty Veltins-Arena since the restart of the Bundesliga in May after the coronavirus suspension.
After Sunday's fixture, Schalke 04 travel to Eintracht Frankfurt on June 17 and they host Wolfsburg three days later before ending the 2019-20 league season at Freiburg on June 27.
So far this season, Sane has made 15 league appearances for the Royal Blues, including 13 starts with two goals to his name.
The 29-year-old moved to Germany in 2013 after playing for Bordeaux and Nancy in the French Ligue 1 between 2010 and 2013.
After spending five years at Hannover 96, he joined Schalke 04 in June 2018 and he has played 56 matches in all competitions so far with six goals.
Born in France to Senegalese parents, Sane was eligible to play for either the Blues or the Teranga Lions, but he opted for the West African country.
He made his debut appearance for Senegal against Angola in June 2013, during the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
The 29-year-old opened his goal account for the Teranga Lions in June 2015, securing their 3-1 win over Burundi during a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
He has made 22 international appearances so far, and he was part of Aliou Cisse’s team that finished second at the 2019 Afcon in Egypt and the 23-man squad to the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.
