Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury.
The Belgian international joined the Catalan club from Arsenal in a £15m deal, but he is yet to make a single appearance for the club, other than a friendly in pre-season against an Indonesian U19 side, in which he scored.
Reports last week in Spain emerged that the centre-back was closing in on a return to action after further problems with his thigh.
However, it is now reported that Vermaelen has broke down once more in training with a similar muscle pain and it is now expected that he will not feature until next season.
Vermaelen signed a five-year deal when he arrived at the Camp Nou in August and was expected to link up with Gerard Pique in a defensive partnership role.