Eduardo da Silva faces a long battle to save his career after undergoing surgery on a broken leg suffered playing for Arsenal against Birmingham on Saturday.

The 25-year-old suffered a compound fracture of both of the bones in the lower leg, the fibula and the tibia, following a challenge by Martin Taylor.

Arsene Wenger admitted he does not know whether the Brazil-born Croatian will play again, while Eduardo said: "I am unsure of the extent of the injury and how long I will be out of action for but I know that I won't be able to [play for Arsenal for the rest of the season or be ready in time for the Euros this summer."

During surgery at Selly Oak hospital in Brimingham Eduardo had a metal plate or pins inserted to hold the bones together, and he faces three months on crutches during which time he must not put any weight on his left leg. He was transferred to a London hospital on Sunday.

David Busst of Coventry City never played again after suffering a horrific injury against Manchester United in 1996. The former defender took up a clinical sports science course after his retirement and said it was impossible to assess the outlook for Eduardo at such an early stage.

"If it's a clean break then he has a chance of perhaps training again within a year but if there is severe muscle and tissue damage then the outlook is less optimistic," he told the Guardian.

"That is what ended my career. My tendons were severely ruptured and then MRSA got into the open wounds, destroying the muscle and tissue around the injured part of my leg forever. Once that happened, there was no way back. I had 26 operations."

It is dangerous to read too much into previous case studies as clearly not all broken legs are the same; Eduardo's was relatively low down his leg, just above the ankle. Although similar injuries have ended players' careers, others have made a full recovery.

Aston Villa's Luc Nilis retired after a double break of his right leg in a Premier League game against Ipswich in 2000, although he was 33 when he suffered the injury whereas Eduardo is significantly younger.

Former Sheffield Wednesday player Ian Knight took Chester City's Gary Bennett to court over a challenge that saw Knight break his right leg in seven places. He eventually settled out of court with Chester in 1997, 10 years after the incident which eventually ended Knight's career after an unsuccessful comeback attempt.

However, more recent cases indicate there is hope for Eduardo. Djibril Cisse came close to losing his left leg after a freak injury while playing for Liverpool in 2004, but went on to make a full recovery and came back after just six months out. The luckless Frenchman went on to suffer an open fracture of his right tibia in the lead-up to the 2006 World Cup, and again returned to full fitness.

Alan Smith sustained a broken left leg and a dislocated ankle playing for Manchester United against Liverpool, but he too made a full recovery after seven months and now plays for Newcastle United.

Alex Chick / Eurosport