Austrian footballer Guido Burgstaller is in hospital with a fractured skull after being attacked in Vienna.

Burgstaller’s club, Rapid Vienna, released a statement on Monday announcing that their striker had suffered serious head injuries after being attacked by an unknown man in the centre of the Austrian capital.

Burgstaller suffered a skull fracture after a fall caused by what the club described as a “brutal blow” and was examined and treated at a local Vienna hospital, where is expected to spend the next few days.

Rapid Vienna said they expected the 35-year-old to be out of action for a period of several months while he recovers.

“Rapid wishes its player a speedy and uncomplicated recovery and trusts in the responsible authorities that the as yet unknown perpetrator will be brought to justice quickly,” Rapid Vienna’s statement read as they also pledged to keep fans updated with any further developments.

Burgstaller is currently in his second stint at Rapid Vienna, having rejoined his former club back in the summer of 2022 after eight years away in which he briefly played for Cardiff under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before moving to Germany for spells with Nurnberg, Schalke and FC St. Pauli.

The forward has netted 69 goals in 203 total appearances for the record Austrian top-flight title winners, finishing as top scorer in the 2022/23 Austrian Bundesliga campaign.

He has 192 goals in 615 club appearances in total, having also played for the likes of FC Karnten and Wiener Neustadter SC during a professional career that began back in 2006.

This season, the veteran striker has eight goals in 24 appearances across all competitions, with Rapid Vienna currently sitting third in the Austrian Bundesliga standings behind rivals Sturm Graz and Austria Vienna.

Burgstaller came on as a substitute in their last match under Robert Klauß, introduced for the final 23 minutes of the 3-1 loss to Omonia in the Europa Conference League in Cyprus.

Burgstaller has also earned 26 senior caps for Austria, scoring twice after coming out of international retirement for Ralf Rangnick’s side back in 2019.