Marseille star Thauvin set for long absence with ankle injury

France - Marseille's World Cup-winning winger Florian Thauvin is set to miss the rest of the calendar year after agreeing to undergo ankle surgery, his club announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, Marseille said Thauvin would not play again until after Ligue 1's winter break, which covers the period of late December and early January.

Thauvin, who has won 10 caps for France including one appearance as a substitute during their triumphant World Cup campaign in Russia last year, initially suffered the injury late last season.

He then twisted his ankle in a pre-season friendly defeat to Rangers in July but returned to action for Andre Villas-Boas's side on September 1.

Despite that, Marseille said he would now undergo an arthroscopy "in order to be able to get back to 100 percent".

Thauvin has scored 53 league goals in the last three seasons for his club, who are hoping Villas-Boas can revive their fortunes after they missed out on European qualification at the end of last season.