United States international John Brooks has been ruled out for three months with a thigh injury by his club Wolfsburg.

Brooks was forced off before half-time with the injury during Wolfburg's 1-0 DFB Pokal first-round win over Eintracht Norderstedt at the weekend.

Kicker reported on Monday that the defender faced a challenge to return in time for Wolfsburg's Bundesliga opener against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

But the Bundesliga club have since confirmed that the injury was worse than first feared and Brooks now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

.@j_brooks25 will be out for around three months after tearing tendons in his right thigh in the cup on Sunday ☹️ Get well soon, Jay🇺🇸! pic.twitter.com/MwCMUtdQGK — VfL Wolfsburg US (@VfLWolfsburg_US) August 16, 2017

Brooks will definitely miss United States' upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras next month.

Brooks became the most expensive U.S. player ever this summer when he left hometown club Hertha Berlin for Wolfsburg for a reported fee of €20 million.