ANKARA

Fenerbahce midfielder Fred faced a ligament injury in his right knee, the Turkish Super Lig club confirmed on Wednesday.

In a statement, Fenerbahce said that Brazilian player Fred, 31, underwent an MRI scan, where he was diagnosed with an inner ligament injury.

Fred, a former Manchester United midfielder, sustained the injury during a Tuesday UEFA Champions League qualifier against Swiss club Lugano, and had to leave the match.

Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce beat Lugano 2-1 in Istanbul, and won 6-4 on aggregate to proceed to the Champions League third qualifying round.

The Turkish press said that Fred is expected to be out of action for 3 or 4 weeks so he is going to miss both matches against France's Lille in August.

Fenerbahce will visit Lille on Aug. 6, and the second leg of this tie will be held at Istanbul's Ulker Stadium on Aug. 13.

Winning team will advance to the playoffs before the league phase.

Fred, who was signed from English Premier League's Manchester United in 2023, is a Fenerbahce regular to have scored three goals and made eight assists in 35 matches last season and helped the Yellow Canaries finish the 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig campaign in the second spot after archrivals Galatasaray.

Before Man Utd, Fred had played for Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk to win three league titles.

This season Fred played in two matches against Lugano and produced an assist in the first leg that Fenerbahce won 4-3 at Switzerland's Thun last week.