Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is to undergo minor eye surgery and will face a short lay-off.
The Italy international wears contact lenses when playing but has recently experienced problems with them because of some instances of conjunctivitis.
City hope the 22-year-old could be playing again within two weeks and have waited for the international break to book him in for the procedure. He will, however, miss the Azzurri's World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Malta.
City first-team coach David Platt said: "I think he is okay, it is just a normal procedure. It is just a minor operation.
"The contact lenses are the issue when he gets it, conjunctivitis. He can't get his contact lenses in, so he can't really play."
There had been reports Balotelli could be out for a month because of the problem but Platt says that is wide of the mark.
He said: "I don't know where that has come from."
Balotelli was an unused substitute for Saturday evening's Barclays Premier League match against QPR.
