"His season is over, he had worked really hard to get back to a level where I was considering him for games again, certainly at this busy Christmas period and he was very much in our thoughts.
"He is not going to be available for quite some time and it is going to be difficult for him. He showed real strength of character to come through the year out that he had last year, he will have the operation on the 21st and he'll have landmarks to get through with his rehab after then."
This is bitterly frustrating. Like the Valeri Bozhinov injury at Villa Park in August 2008, it comes just as he was about to challenge for a first team spot. And now he is set to be out for at least as long as he was with his abdominal problem. Even if he comes back in, let's say, September 2010 it will have been two years since he last started in the Premier League. And if we haven't already left him behind the chances are that with new midfielders brought in over the next two transfer windows he won't near the first team in 2010/11.
Seeing this news on the same day that Dean Ashton retired has filled me with some dread.
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