Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne has been ruled out for up to two months after breaking his right collar bone in the Premier League match against Manchester City.

The Ireland centre back landed heavily as he competed for a high ball with City goalkeeper Joe Hart in the closing minutes of Villa’s 1-0 loss on Sunday.

Dunne will have surgery on Monday and Villa says in a statement “it is anticipated that he will be sidelined for up to eight weeks.”

Villa is 15th in the 20-team Premier League standings, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

With Dunne expected back before the end of the season in May, the injury doesn’t threaten his availability for Ireland in the European Championship, which begins on June 8.