Mainz have offered midfielder Elkin Soto an additional year on his contract after the Colombian suffered a knee injury that threatens to end his career.
Soto, 34, tore the cruciate and medial ligaments in his left knee in a clash with Hamburg's Rafael van der Vaart on Sunday.
The midfielder has played in Germany since 2007 but planned to return to play in his native Colombia after the Bundesliga season.
"I have been around for a long time, but I have never seen a knee like that," said Mainz team manager Christian Heidel, according to AFP. "If he wants to, he will straight away get a contract for a further year."
Van der Vaart offered his sympathies to Soto and apologised for his part in the incident.
"I am really sorry, it wasn't a foul and it wasn't intentional," Van der Vaart saud. "He hyper-extended his knee while kicking between my legs."
