Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt is set for a spell on the sidelines with a knee problem suffered in the DFB-Pokal defeat by Saarbrucken.

The Dutch centre-back was forced off midway through the first half of Wednesday night’s second round cup tie against the third-tier outfit.

Following scans, Bayern announced De Ligt had suffered a partial ligament tear in his right knee, which could see him face a lengthy rehabilitation.

The Bundesliga champions said in a statement on the club’s official website: “Matthijs de Ligt sustained a partial tear of the ligament in his right knee joint in FC Bayern’s 2-1 DFB Cup defeat at FC Saarbrucken.

“That is the outcome of a scan carried out by the club’s medical department on Thursday. Centre-back de Ligt will therefore miss FC Bayern’s upcoming games.”

Thomas Tuchel’s men return to league action on Saturday when they head to rivals Borussia Dortmund for a first Der Klassiker meeting of the season.