West Bromwich Albion's Zoltan Gera out for rest of season

Gera re-joined West Brom from Fulham at the beginning of the season

West Brom's Zoltan Gera will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Tottenham.

Hungary captain Gera will have surgery on his left knee at the weekend.

The 32-year-old is expected to need between six and nine months to recover, ensuring a return at the start of next season at the earliest.

Manager Roy Hodgson said on Saturday: "This will be a major blow both on the training pitch and the match arena."

The injury was suffered as Gera landed awkwardly in the 21st minute at The Hawthorns.

Gera initially joined West Brom from Ferencvaros in 2004, making over 150 appearances before signing for Fulham four years later. He re-joined Albion in the summer, signing a two-year contract.

Hodgson added: "Zoltan has done really well since coming into the team three games ago and his performances quickly justified how highly we rate him."