The Brazilian full joined the Galician club in the summer, but will now be sidelined until the New Year after only two league games.

Just before the hour mark in Celta's game with Gimnàstic, Lucas fell awkwardly on his ankle and broke the fibula in his leg.

An operation has seen doctors have to put screws into support the bone in a complicated operation that the medics described as a 'success'.

Celta are due to play Standard Liege in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, but will also be without Pablo García, Jorge Larena, Antonio Guayre and Daniël de Ridder.

Pablo García has a thigh injury that will see him miss the next month, while Larena pulled out training and tests revealed that he has pulled a ligament in his right knee.

De Ridder has been ruled out for at least two months with inflamed tendonitis in his knee, while Guayre was given an initial time of two weeks to recover from a muscle injury, but tests could mean a six-week lay-off if the blow is discovered to be more serious.

Despite the long list of casualties, Nené is confident that Celta can still win against the Belgian side in the UEFA Cup and progress to the group stages.

"It is true that we have had a lot of injuries," the summer signing from Alavés said. "But I am sure that there replacements will be fine.

"We will go there looking for a positive result because their is a lot of quality in this team."

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