Berlin, Dec 6 (IANS): Borussia Dortmund's Maximilian Philipp will face a lengthy spell at the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury, the Bundesliga club confirmed in an official statement.

The 23-year-old striker fell on his knee and had to be carted off the pitch early in the game against Bayer Leverkusen, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate, reports Xinhua news agency.

Philipp was replaced by Andre Schuerrle and will be out of action for "several months". According to the club's statement on Tuesday the summer signing suffered a serious injury to his kneecap.

The striker joined from Freiburg in the summer 2017 to score six goals in eleven appearances ever since. He is after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the second-best goal-scorer at the "BVB".

Struggling Dortmund, who wait for a victory since October 28 in all competitions, sit currently on the sixth place of the Bundesliga standings. They clash with bottom side Werder Bremen at the 15th round of Saturday.