LOSC centre-back Tiago Djalo will be out for the rest of the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, the club announced on Monday.
The 22-year-old defender injured himself in the 13th minute of the Derby du Nord after a challenge with Lens' Adrien Thomasson, with further examinations yielding some rough news for the Portugal U21 stopper - and coach Paulo Fonseca.
ACL
"He is suffering from a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee, which will require surgery," LOSC said in a statement. "Tiago Djalo's 2022-23 season is over."
Tiago Djalo arrived in Lille in 2019 and over the years has become one of the mainstays of the Lille defence. This season, Les Dogues' coach Paulo Fonseca has started him in 24 of LOSC's 26 league games.
Less choice at the back
It is another blow for the northern club, which has already had to deal with the absences of two regulars in defence: left-back Ismaily, who has been absent since early February, and who is expected to be out for at least another month; and Bafodé Diakité, who suffered a hamstring injury ten days ago and is not expected to return to action for at least three weeks.
In addition to 39-year-old captain Jose Fonte, Paulo Fonseca has only two other professional centre-backs: 17-year-old Leny Yoro and 23-year-old Alexsandro, who came on for Djalo on Saturday.
LOSC's next challenge comes as they play host to Olympique Lyonnais in the Round 27 opener on Friday night.
