Zamora was injured in a challenge by Karl Henry

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora will be out for five months after suffering ankle ligament damage as well as a broken leg, said manager Mark Hughes.

Zamora, 29, was injured in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Wolves and had surgery on his right fibula the following day.

He was initially expected to return to action for the Craven Cottage outfit before Christmas.

But Hughes said: "The operation showed ligament damage so we're probably now looking at five months."

Zamora suffered the injury midway through the first half of Saturday's win against Mick McCarthy's side, suffering a fracture 4cm above his right ankle.

It was cruel timing as Zamora had made his England debut only the previous weekend with further caps seemingly imminent.

606: DEBATE What a disappointment it was to see Bobby lying on the deck in agony, I really feel for the guy frogman27

With fellow striker Andy Johnson still several weeks away from a first-team return Fulham must now rely on impressive new signing Moussa Dembele to spearhead their attack.

Hughes added: "We want to help Bobby get back quickly and there are no concerns over his ability to get back to the level he was before he got injured."

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