PSV striker Lucas Perez is expected to miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.

The 36-year-old Spanish forward, who was signed a month ago as short-term cover for the injured Ricardo Pepi, has been placed in quarantine for three weeks.

The club confirmed on Monday that one of its players had been diagnosed with an “active” case of tuberculosis and it had taken steps to prevent the infection spreading.

Perez was not officially named in a press statement at his own request, but his name leaked out via Spanish media. He had been suffering from lung problems for several weeks.

He has played just 24 minutes for PSV since signing for the club from Deportivo La Coruña and is unlikely to take the field again before his contract runs out at the end of the season on May 18.

PSV’s medical staff have also been in touch with their counterparts at Ajax ahead of this Sunday’s top-of-the table clash between the clubs, but the match is expected to go ahead as usual. Perez is believed to have been infected before he arrived in Eindhoven and no other members of the squad have fallen sick.

Tuberculosis, whose symptoms include coughing, fever, tiredness and weight loss, was once a deadly illness that was responsible for around a quarter of adult deaths in Europe in the 19th century.

Nowadays it is relatively rare in western nations, with 1400 infections diagnosed in the Netherlands in 2023, and is usually effectively treated with antibiotics.