On-loan Ebbsfleet striker Michael Thalassitis faces nine months on the sidelines after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the Skrill South play-off final.

Thalassitis has just completed a season-long loan with the Fleet and was due to return to his parent club Stevenage at the end of the month.

Stevenage have been relegated back to League 2 and Ebbsfleet boss Steve Brown said last week that he thought Thalassitis could be part of their first-team plans in 2014/15.

But the Cyprus under-21 international has since been released by the Hertfordshire club.

He suffered the injury in the dying seconds of the play-off final against Dover, which the Fleet lost 1-0. Thalassitis had come on as a 64th-minute substitute for Billy Bricknell but he was forced off in stoppage-time.

The 21-year-old was in London on Friday for a scan and the results brought bad news, which he posted on Twitter on Saturday morning.

Thalassitis said: "Gutted with the news today. Done my ACL in the last minute of the play off final. Gonna be a long 9 months out."

He made 43 appearances for Ebbsfleet last season, 20 from the bench, and scored 11 goals. Thalassitis was named Skrill South player-of-the-month for November, when he scored four goals.

His team-mates were quick to show their support for the centre-forward.

Michael West suffered the same injury in March, having only rejoined Ebbsfleet from Crewe Alexandra in January. He will miss the start of next season.