Hamburg forward Pierre-Michel Lasogga suffers thigh strain

Lasogga was substituted just before half-time in Hamburg's 1-0 defeat at home to Stuttgart on Tuesday, and scans have shown a strain that will see him miss Saturday's trip to Schalke.

The 23-year-old moved to the Imtech Arena permanently in July after impressing on loan from Hertha Berlin last season, scoring 13 league goals, however he has struggled since.

With only two goals in 16 appearances, Lasogga has been part of a struggling Hamburg side, and head coach Joe Zinnbauer will have further problems before the break with captain Rafael van der Vaart also suspended.

"Shortly before half-time [on Tuesday], striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga signalled a thigh problem to the bench," a club statement read.

"A full examination was carried out in Hamburg today and the news was bad.

"The former Hertha BSC striker has a thigh strain and has been ruled out of the final game of the year - the matchday 17 trip to Schalke on Saturday."

Hamburg go into the final game of the first half of the season just two points clear of the bottom three after their opening 16 matches and once again look set for a season of struggle after avoiding the drop in last season's play-off.