Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has confirmed that defender Raphael Varane will be ruled out until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Varane suffered the injury during the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The 29-year-old lunged out with his right foot away from his body to try to stretch towards the ball and cut off the attack as Blues striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang raced forward.
However his attempts to stifle the threat left him in a heap in visible pain after the impact of planting his foot in the ground seemed to jar his knee.
The France international was visibly distraught as he limped off the field amid fears his hopes of playing in next month's World Cup were over.
United boss ten Hag has since confirmed that Varane, who has struck up a solid partnership in defence with Lisandro Martinez, will miss the next six matches in the lead up to the World Cup.
'Raphael Varane isn't in the squad,' Ten Hag told reporters. 'He will be out, certainly until the World Cup so he will not play in this block [of games] for Man United.'
There is even fears around whether or not the defender will be fit in time to help Didier Deschamps' France squad defend their title in Qatar.
The Dutchman was unable to confirm if Varane could be ruled out of the major tournament at this stage.
'I think so, but the prognosis we have to wait. We have to see how it develops, how the rehab will develop.'
Varane's injury also means a potential opportunity for United captain Harry Maguire to return to the starting line-up after not featuring for over a month.
The England international has been ruled out in recent weeks due to a thigh problem that he picked up during the last international break.
The 29-year-old has now returned to first-team training and it could be perfect timing with ten Hag needing to fill the void left by the injured Varane in the coming weeks.
Ten Hag added: 'Maguire will always play an important role. He was injured, he's on his way back. Now he has to get back into games.'