Fulham's manager, Martin Jol, fears Mahamadou Diarra could be ruled out for the majority of the season by the injury he sustained while making his return from international exile with Mali.

The 31-year-old, who had not played for his country for more than a year, damaged his left knee and was forced to miss Fulham's 2-0 Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion.

Jol confirmed that Diarra requires surgery and will miss at least another three weeks, but, if it transpires he has damaged his cruciate ligament, he could be out for up to five months.

"There's a little piece of cartilage floating in his knee, so we have to operate on that in any case, and that can be three or four weeks.

"But if there is damage to his cruciate ligament, for example, it will take a lot longer. It will take him three, four, five months at least."