Bayern Munich's Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui will take some time away from football after being diagnosed with an inflammation of heart tissue after contracting Covid-19.
The Bundesliga club said Mazraoui missed Morocco's quarter-final win over Portugal at the World Cup because of Covid, though the full-back did play against France in the semi-final, lasting 45 minutes.
He played no part in Morocco's third-place play-off defeat to Croatia supposedly because of a muscle injury.
But further medical tests upon his return to Bayern revealed Mazraoui's pericardium - a protective, fluid-filled sac that surrounds the heart and helps it function - has become inflamed.
A statement released by Bayern on Friday said the 25-year-old will not fly with the rest of the squad to Doha for a training camp ahead of the resumption of the Bundesliga in a fortnight's time.
'Noussair Mazraoui is out initially after a Covid infection. A follow-up examination in Munich after the World Cup tournament revealed a mild inflammation of the pericardium, which the defender will now cure,' Bayern tweeted.
The German newspaper Bild reported that Mazraoui is expected to be sidelined for between six and eight weeks, with Bayern taking no chances.
It echoes the club's approach when Alphonso Davies was diagnosed with a minor heart condition in January last year following a Covid infection in December.
Davies, then 21, didn't feature in a competitive game for Bayern until April and missed out on Canada's World Cup qualifiers.
He admitted in an interview with ESPN that the experience was 'very scary' because doctors were uncertain how long he would be out.
'At the time I had doubts in my head, whether I'm still going to be able to play football,' he said.
Mazraoui was part of a Morocco side that took the World Cup by storm, playing in all three of their group stage games and then their victory over Spain in the last-16.
Bayern are due to play Red Bull Salzburg in a friendly on January 13 ahead of the return of the German season.
The reigning champions, who are four points clear at the top, resume with a game at RB Leipzig on January 20.