Schalke 04 captain Benedikt Hoewedes will miss the coming weeks after tearing his left groin and becomes the ninth Royal Blues' player on the injury list, the club confirmed Thursday.

This is the third injury of the season for the 26-year-old Germany center back, who suffered the tear in Tuesday's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The injury was confirmed by a scan in Munich on Thursday.

Schalke are third in the Bundesliga and were knocked out of the last 16 of the Champions League by Spanish giants Real.