AC Milan's Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato is set for at least three weeks out after suffering an adductor muscle tear, the club said on Thursday.
"In the coming days new medical tests will be carried out to determine more precisely the nature of the tear to the right adductor muscle," a club statement read, adding that the 22-year-old suffered the injury in training on Wednesday just four days before the new season starts.
Having just suffered an Olympic final loss to Mexico with his country, Pato now has to digest more frustration - he missed a total of 30 games last season in a campaign that was brought to a premature end when he tore a muscle in a Champions League match against Barcelona.
Going back to 2010 an assortment of injuries have kept Pato out of action for a total of 405 days.