Rafael van der Vaart could be out for up to three weeks with a torn ankle ligament.
The Hamburger SV captain was taken off in the 4-2 defeat to Eintracht Braunschweig in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
He could now miss matches against Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hamburger, who are 17th in the Bundesliga, sacked Bert van Marwijk after their defeat at the weekend.