The 19-year-old Swiss International collapsed in pain in the first half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Augsburg when his left ankle was caught under a challenge from opposing defender Kostas Stafylidis.

Embolo underwent an operation on Sunday and the club said the injury was more serious than previously thought and he would need extensive rehabilitation.

"This injury has shocked the whole of Schalke," Sporting Director Christian Heidel said. "We have all seen how Breel has identified with the club and become in a short time and at the age of only 19 a very important player.

"We will give Breel every support so that he can come back stronger from this serious injury and can carry on again where he was forced to leave off."

After joining the Gelsenkirchen side from FC Basel in the summer for a reported 25 million Euros, Embolo had initially struggled to make his mark in Markus Weinzeirl's side, but had finally begun to perform in their previous two Bundesliga games.

He scored two goals in the club's 4-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach and made an assist against Hoffenheim the week before.