BOCA RATON, Fla. – United States national team hopeful and Borussia Dortmund winger Joe Gyau will undergo knee surgery to repair damage suffered during the US team’s match against Ecuador last Friday, and will be out of action until at least January.

US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann broke the news during a press conference on Monday, one day ahead of the US team’s match against Honduras at Florida Atlantic University.

Gyau went down in the early going of the Americans’ eventual 1-1 draw against Ecuador in East Hartford, Connecticut. He had to be helped off the field and was later seen on the sideline on crutches with a huge ice pack on his knee, but told reporters after the match that the injury was not serious.

Klinsmann said Monday, however, that an MRI revealed the damage was serious enough to warrant surgery, shelving the 22-year old Florida native for the near future.

“Its unfortunately not a little minor thing – he is getting surgery back in Germany and he will be out probably until January,” Klinsmann said. “Unfortunately that is the result of an MRI that was taken [in Florida], he flew over to Germany and their team doctors decided to have him undergo surgery so he will be out for quite a while. That is a real bummer because he really gave us some spark.”

Gyau earned his first US cap last month in the team’s international friendly against the Czech Republic. He’s also begun to break through for Borussia Dortmund making his debut with the club on Sept. 22.