Vukovic picked up the injury while completing a routine jumping exercise.

It means he will miss out on his first taste of Champions League football.

“Every week, earlier in the week, we do a plyometric session prior to going on to the pitch,” he said.

“That’s how it happened, it’s something that I’ve done pretty much every week since I’ve been at the club. It’s one of those unfortunate things, it was my last repetition of my last set and that’s when it happened.

“It was a terrible thing but it’s happened and I just have to deal with it. That’s when it’s going to hit me the most, when I’m missing out on Champions League games. And also with the national team, I was really excited about the year coming up.”

Vukovic joined Genk from Sydney FC in 2017 and has had an impressive two seasons in Europe.

He won the competition’s Golden Shoe award for the 2017/2018 campaign and last season the Blauw-Wit won the title.

“It’s been a perfect stepping stone for me,” he said.

“Definitely the quality over here is better than what I came from. It’s not the best quality you can play in Europe but it is a step up.  Initially it took a bit of time to get used to things, but once I got used to football’s like over here I started playing some of my best football.  

"It’s disappointing there’s a bit of a pause at the moment but I’ll be back.”