Brentford goalkeeper David Raya is expected to miss at least four months of action after sustaining a knee injury in Sunday’s defeat to Leicester.

Raya suffered ligament damage to his left knee in a collision with Leicester forward Ayoze Perez in the closing stages of the 2-1 defeat, which he completed.

The 26-year-old Spaniard has made an impressive start to his debut Premier League campaign, keeping three clean sheets to help the newly-promoted side to 12th in the table after nine games.

Brentford head of medical Neil Greig told the club website: “David has unfortunately sustained an injury to the Posterior Cruciate Ligament in his left knee. The issue will require a prolonged period of time to heal and for David to then regain function and strength around the joint.

“Positively, this type of injury usually heals well without the need for surgery. David has already begun using a brace specifically designed to aid this process.

“We anticipate the recovery period for an injury like this to be somewhere between four and five months, which will enable David to be back to his previous high levels well before the end of the season.”

Fellow Spaniard Alvaro Fernandez, who joined on loan in August from Spanish second-tier side Huesca, looks set to take over the starting position, with Patrik Gunnarsson providing backup.

Brentford’s next game is away to Stoke on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, a competition in which Fernandez had started their previous two matches this season.

Their first Premier League game without Raya, who joined Brentford from Blackburn in 2019, comes at Burnley on Saturday.