GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) - Switzerland captain Alexander Frei wil be out of action for ten weeks after suffering a knee ligament tear which prematurely ended his involvement in Euro 2008, sources close to the player said Thursday.

Frei had surgery in the town of Bienne and the 28-year-old will now miss the start of the new Bundesliga season with German club Borussia Dortmund.

His absence from all but the opening minutes of the group phase helped to bury Swiss hopes of making it to the last eight.

The Swiss started off with a 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic and then lost 2-1 to Turkey before saving face with a 2-0 win over already qualified Portugal.

Frei has scored 35 goals in 60 internationals to be the leading scorer in Switzerland's history.

His loss at the Euro loss was compounded by form and fitness problems with his regular strike partner, Marco Streller, who for his part has also had trouble with a suspected hernia.