Barcelona great Andres Iniesta has undergone surgery after tearing the rectus femoris muscle in his right leg, which should keep him out of action for the next four months.

The Vissel Kobe midfielder, who became a household name whilst playing for Barcelona and the Spanish national team, picked up the injury whilst playing for the Japanese side in the Asian Champions League.

Iniesta ended up picking up an injury during Vissel Kobe's last-16 tie against Shanghai SIPG, yet he came off the bench in extra time of the quarter-final clash against Suwon Bluewings and scored the first penalty in the shootout en route to his team reaching the semi-finals.

However, in taking that penalty, Iniesta aggravated the injured muscle and pulled up, meaning that he would be unable to play in the final four.

The decision was then taken for Iniesta to go under the knife in Barcelona, with a press release from Sports&Life stating that the operation went well.

"The operation was successfully performed by Dr. Ramon Cugat and his team in the city of Barcelona and was attended by Vissel Kobe's medical services," it read.

"[Iniesta] is well and looking forward to starting his recovery."