Demba Ba suffered a terrible leg injury in the second half of the Shanghai derby in the Chinese Super League on Monday (AEST).

The former Chelsea striker's left leg twisted badly after he tangled with defender Sun Xiang while chasing down an attempted throughball.

Ba, who has scored 14 goals in 18 appearances this season, was carried off on a stretcher with 20 minutes to play and is expected to face a lengthy spell out of action with a suspected leg fracture.

Head coach Gregorio Manzano later described the challenge as "horrendous", saying: "I would rather lose the game than lose Ba. God is unfair. Ba is too good to have this happen to him."

Chelsea star Eden Hazard and veteran Australia international Tim Cahill were among former team-mates of Ba to express their support on Twitter.

Shanghai Shenhua sealed a 2-1 victory thanks to Fredy Guarin's penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, after defender Jiajie Wang had been sent off.