Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez will miss at least two weeks with a muscle tear, Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt announced at a media conference Friday.
The club had previously announced the injury – a small tear in the left gluteal muscle – on Wednesday, though it did not know how much time the striker would miss beyond this weekend's contest against Darmstadt. Hernandez picked up the injury in the club's 3-1 DFB-Pokal loss to Werder Bremen on Tuesday.
However, speaking Friday, Schmidt admitted the situation was more serious and the club, while hopeful he would return in two weeks, wasn't certain how long he would be out.
"Chicharito's injury doesn't happen often," Schmidt said. "We hope he will only be out two weeks."
"#Chicharito's injury doesn't happen often. We hope he will only be out for two weeks." - #Schmidt pic.twitter.com/Xl6UwIg12O
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) February 12, 2016
However, Schmidt expressed optimism the team can survive without Chicharito, who is the team's top scorer with 13 league goals this season. The Mexico international has 22 goals in 26 games in all competitions.
"We don't know how long Chicharito will be out, but we've proven that we can still win without him," Schmidt said.
"We don't know how long exactly #Chicharito will be out, but we've proven that we can still win without him!" - #Schmidt#D98B04
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) February 12, 2016
