GREMIO star Marlon suffered a horrific broken ankle during the victory over Vitoria.
The Brazilian left-back was running the ball out from the defence when he was caught in an awkward challenge.
Marlon, 28, collided with Vitoria ace Nathan Mendes and caught his ankle in the turf as he fell.
The defender immediately grabbed his leg in pain and raised it to the sky to alert people to the stomach-churning injury.
Players could be seen visibly distraught once they had realised the extent of the break.
Former Chelsea and Arsenal star Willian was also emotional as he broke down in tears at the sight of his team-mate.
Medical staff were quickly rushed onto the pitch to tend to the injured star.
Footage of the horror moment went viral on social media as fans were left in shock.
One posted: “Oh my God! Strength, Marlon.”
A second wrote: “It just gives a heartache of sadness.”
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A third commented: “This looks terrible.”
A fourth said: “My God, what anguish—get better soon.”
Another added: “Wishing him a speedy recovery.”
Gremio have confirmed that Marlon suffered a fracture in his right ankle and will have surgery.
A club statement read: “Gremio informs that left-back Marlon has been diagnosed with a fracture of the right ankle and will undergo surgery on the afternoon of this Friday.
“The estimated return period is five months.”
Marlon is expected to be out of action until at least late August.
Manager Luís Castro insisted that the club will “wait” for the player when asked about him after the game.
He said: Before any professional, whether a football player, a journalist, or any worker, there is a human being.
“The problem isn’t being without Marlon for as long as necessary; we will wait for him.
“The problem is seeing an injury take away someone’s ability to do what they love most.”
After Marlon was taken off the pitch and put in an ambulance, Castro entered the pitch to speak to his team.
The coach revealed that he told the team to “honour” Marlon with their performance.
He added: “It’s incredibly sad to see a colleague of ours on the ground, unable to continue with us.
“There are injuries and injuries, but these are the ones that stay in our memory, the ones that happened just three or four meters away.
“What I told them was to honour their colleague.
“Honouring a colleague means continuing to give our best in the profession, which is something he (Marlon) loves to do so much.”
Gremio won the Brasileiro Série A fixture 2-0 thanks to an own-goal from Camutanga and a strike by Francis Amuzu.
The three points lifts the Porto Alegre-based club to seventh in Brazil’s top-flight.
