Malaga striker Julio Baptista has been hit by a new injury blow after undergoing an Achilles tendon operation in Barcelona.
A statement from the club said the Brazilian will now be out for a further four months after being sidelined since last October when he scored the winner in a 3-2 defeat of Getafe at La Rosaleda.
Baptista, who had surgery last December on a fracture in his foot after initially being told to rest, then aggravated a leg injury whilst recovering and subsequently returned to his native country to speed up the process.
However, this latest setback means Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini could now be forced to step up his attempts to bring in another frontman following Ruud van Nistelrooy’s retirement at the end of last season, with Sevilla’s Spanish international Alvaro Negredo strongly rumoured to be first on his list of priorities.
