Juventus striker David Trezeguet could be out for as much as five months following knee surgery, the Serie A club said.
The Frenchman, who has quit international football, will undergo an operation on Tuesday after suffering an injury in last week's Champions League win over Zenit St Petersburg.
"The recovery time goes from a minimum of three and a half months to a maximum of four or five months," the club said in a statement, adding that the injury was not related to previous knee trouble.
Juve also said goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon would miss Wednesday's home league game with Catania because of a thigh injury and that he was very doubtful for Saturday's trip to Sampdoria.
Striker Alessandro Del Piero is fit to return against Catania, however, after missing Sunday's 1-0 win at Cagliari where new forward Amauri scored his second goal in two league games.