Leverkusen's Hilbert ruled out until end of year

Bayer Leverkusen's defender Robert Hilbert will be out of action until the end of the year following a surgical procedure, the club has said in an official statement.

After continuing knee problems, Hilberto underwent a surgery in which knee specialist Peter Schaeferhoff removed inflamed tissue from the defender's left knee joint, reports Xinhua.

As a consequence, "Bayer Leverkusen will have to spare Roberto Hilbert until the end of the year at least", the club said in a statement on Thursday.

Leverkusen currently occupy the seventh place in the standings. They face Hamburg in the ninth round of Bundesliga on October 17.