Wolfsburg striker Obafemi Martins needs surgery to correct his shin problem and will now miss the rest of the calendar year.
The Nigeria forward has been ruled out of Wolfsburg's clash with Werder Bremen on Saturday and will have an operation on his left shin next week, ruling him out until the new year.
"He is suffering a lot from the injury and the pain has become strong," explained the Wolves' coach Armin Veh.
"There is no way around an operation now."
Martins was originally scheduled to go under the knife at the end of the first half of the Bundesliga season on December 20, but that has now been brought forward since the player is currently unable to even train.
He should be fit enough to return to action for the start of the second half of the season in mid-January.
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