Mehdi Leris’s season is over after he picked up a dreadful injury at Pisa.

The 26-year-old has been praised for making an exciting start to his career back in Italy after leaving Stoke City last month, helping his new side win two and draw two in their opening four matches to sit top of Serie B.

But he was forced out of an international break friendly against Primavera Nerazzurra and scans have come back to confirm he has suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his knee.

Pisa Today reports: “Luck is blind but bad luck sees very well. There is no other way to explain the outcome of the MRI scan undertaken by Mehdi Leris, who must raise the white flag for the entire season. After just three, albeit excellent, appearances, Leris ends his first year in black and blue prematurely.”

Leris has joined Stoke from Sampdoria in the summer of 2023 but ultimately got stuck behind Million Manhoef in the pecking order on the right wing. He spent most of pre-season with the Potters but an exit was sanctioned for an undisclosed fee after Pisa, managed by Filippo Inzaghi had initially had an offer knocked back.