Manchester City forward Lauren Hemp has had knee surgery, the Women's Super League club have confirmed.
Hemp, 24, will rehab with the club but her return to the pitch has not been estimated.
The England international last played for City when they defeated Tottenham 4-0 on 8 November. Hemp made three assists in that game.
Lauren Hemp: How does her injury affect City?
Hemp is a key player for City and many pundits said she was sorely missed in the club's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea last Saturday.
The star, who won the Euros in 2022, is central to City's set-up, especially their attacking play.
She was also voted the WSL Player of the Month for October.
Hemp was also one of their best players when they defeated defending Women's Champions League champions Barcelona in October.
She has scored two goals and made seven assists across all competitions so far this campaign.
City do still have good attacking threat with players like Bunny Shaw, who is the top scorer in the WSL this season, Chloe Kelly and Aoba Fujino.
This is the third knee injury City are contending with at the moment. Goalkeeper Sandy McIver is recovering from an ACL injury and Vivianne Miedema had knee surgery last month. In FourFourTwo's view Hemp is a significant blow to City and the club will be hoping for a swift recovery for silverware hopes this season.
City are bidding to win the WSL for the first time since 2016 and they are currently second in the table, two points behind defending champions Chelsea.
They were top of the league until they lost to Chelsea this past weekend.
City came close to lifting the trophy last season but were beaten on the final day of the campaign by Chelsea on goal difference.
