Barca's Eto'o to miss at least two months after surgery

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o had surgery on a thigh injury on Saturday and will be out of action for a minimum of two months, the Primera Liga club said.

Cameroon forward Eto'o suffered a partial tear of a tendon in his right thigh two minutes after coming on as a substitute in Wednesday's 5-0 victory over Inter in the Gamper Trophy.

Doctors said they decided to operate to ensure the player did not have problems with the tear in the future. They denied it had any link with last season's knee injury in the same leg.

"We are talking about a top-level player. You can't take risks with this muscle because it is the one known as the 'shooting muscle'," Barca doctor Ramon Cugat was quoted as saying.

The three-times African Player of the Year missed a large chunk of last season after injuring his right knee during a Champions League match against Werder Bremen in September 2006.

Barca have plenty of cover for Eto'o in Thierry Henry, Giovani dos Santos and Bojan Krkic, as well as Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

But coach Frank Rijkaard admitted they would miss him.

"He is a guarantee of goals," he said.