A knee injury has forced Thiago Tavares to withdraw from his lightweight matchup against Jim Miller, which was scheduled for the UFC 103 preliminary card on September 19 in Dallas.

Though the severity of the injury, which was first reported by MMAjunkie, is not yet known, it is expected to require surgery and will sideline Tavares for the immediate future.

Tavares (14-3), who was forced to withdraw from a June bout against Melvin Guillard due to an elbow injury, most-recently fought in January, defeating Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision. He had previously lost 3 of his last 4 fights, defeating Michihiro Omigawa while suffering defeats to Tyson Griffin, Matt Wiman, and Kurt Pellegrino.

Miller (14-2) is 3-1 in the UFC since making his Octagon debut in 2008, opening with back-to-back wins over David Baron and Matt Wiman before dropping a decision to Gray Maynard in March. The one-time IFL fighter bounced back last month with a unanimous decision win over Mac Danzig at UFC 100.

Though nearly a month remains before the pay-per-view event, with 13 fights scheduled for the card, the UFC could shift Miller to another upcoming event instead of seeking a short-notice replacement.

For the latest UFC 103 fight card check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.

Pictured: Thiago Tavares