It means he will miss Leicester City’s final match of the Championship campaign but Pim Verbeek will also lose the player’s services for Australia’s hectic schedule of World Cup qualifiers in June.

Kisnorbo was carried off during Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, a result which leaves Ian Holloway’s side in serious danger of relegation to English football’s third tier.

Defeat against promotion-chasing Stoke City on Saturday could see Ian Holloway’s men crash through the Championship trap door, meaning double the agony for Kisnorbo.

Leicester suffered badly against Wednesday once Kisnorbo had left the field and the Foxes boss has not tried to downplay the setback.

He said: “Kisnorbo getting injured was a massive blow.”

But it has just got worse for player and club with the medical reports delivering the result that nobody wanted to hear.

Kisnorbo has suffered a partial anterior cruciate tear and that means he won’t be kicking a ball again for four to six months.

Holloway told Leicester City’s website: “It looked innocuous at the time but those cruciate injuries always do. The good thing is he has the right people around him at the club.

“Our medical team here have dealt with similar injuries in recent years and they are confident he will come through it.

"We have now got to decide if he will have his surgery over here or in Australia.”