Lilles Mavuba set for two months on sidelines

Lille captain and French international midfielder Rio Mavuba has undergone a successful operation on his left knee and will be out for "two to three months", his club announced on Tuesday.

Mavuba suffered the injury during his team's League Cup semi-final defeat to Saint-Etienne earlier this month and underwent an arthroscopy on Tuesday.

"The operation went well," said a club spokesman. "The player will be unavailable for two to three months."

The 28-year-old has already had surgery on his left knee this season, with an operation on a meniscus at the start of October sidelining him for six weeks.

Before this season, the former Bordeaux and Villarreal player had never previously suffered from a serious injury over the course of his career.