Barcelona have announced that Thomas Vermaelen will be out of action for an indefinite period of time due to a thigh injury.
The Belgium international passed a medical at the weekend before completing his ?19 million transfer from Arsenal, but the Catalans have now revealed that the 28-year-old will not be ready to make his debut for now following his World Cup exploits.
Vermaelen made two appearances for Marc Wilmots' men at this summer's tournament in Brazil, where Belgium made it to the quarter-finals.
"The first-team player Thomas Vermaelen has a thigh injury in his right leg that he sustained in June during the World Cup," a statement on the club's official website reads.
"The player will undergo physiotherapy. His return to regular training action depends on the evolution of the injury."
Vermaelen signed a contract with Barcelona until the summer of 2019 on Sunday.
The Camp Nou side previously secured the services of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Jeremy Mathieu, Alen Halilovic, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez.
