Football: Leverkusen lose Bellarabi for up to four weeks with broken hand

BERLIN: Bundesliga title contenders Bayer Leverkusen suffered a setback on Monday (Jan 4) when Karim Bellarabi was ruled out for up to four weeks as he needs surgery for a broken hand.

The 30-year-old injured his left hand in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt which left Leverkusen, who had topped the table in December, third and five points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

An x-ray has revealed Bellarabi fractured his hand and will undergo surgery on Tuesday, the club said in a statement.

Leverkusen have lost their last two league games and head coach Peter Bosz has already admitted he expects European champions Bayern, who currently hold a two-point lead over RB Leipzig, to win the Bundesliga title for the ninth straight season.