Former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta broke a bone in his leg while playing for Japanese club Vissel Kobe in the Asian Champions League and will be out for four months, his club said Wednesday.

Iniesta, 36, underwent successful surgery in Barcelona.

The injury occurred in last week's ACL quarter-final against Suwon.

Iniesta said in a statement on Instagram accompanied by a photo of himself in a hospital bed that he had broken the "rectus femoris of my right leg".

"After many tests I took the advice of my medical team and we have considered that the best option for me was to get surgery and speed up the recovery.

"The surgery has been a success and I am feeling very well."