World footballer Alexia Putellas, captain of the Spanish women's national team, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee shortly before the start of the European Championship.
This was announced by the Spanish association on Tuesday evening.
It will be a heavy blow for Spain, who play Germany on July 12 in Brentford, London.
Alexia is the central figure in the Spanish team.
In January of this year, she was named World Player of the Year 2021 after winning the Champions League, league and cup treble with Barca.
The 28-year-old attacking midfielder was injured in training and is expected to be out for at least six months.
The record national player was injured in the final minutes of the session, according to Marca.
AS and Catalan Sport called "alert".
The association initially spoke of a sprain and referred to further investigations.
In the evening he circulated a short video showing Putellas on crutches.
The devastating diagnosis followed a little later after tests at the King Edward VII Hospital in London.
Spain is the second German group opponent on July 12 in Brentford (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the women’s football championship and on ARD) after the start on Friday against second-placed Denmark (6 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the women’s football championship and at ZDF).
Putellas' team's first opponent is also outsider Finland in Milton Keynes on Friday.
Putellas has not missed a recent 33 caps since May 2019.
Her failure weighs heavily: For many experts, she is still the best player in the world, she should be one of the stars at the European Championship.
Also this year she won the championship with the club from Catalonia.
Olympique Lyon had prevailed in the Champions League final, but with eleven goals they were the top scorer of the premier class season.
Last week she was the first Spaniard to reach 100 caps.