Kyle Walker, the Tottenham Hotspur and England right back, has undergone lower abdominal surgery, the club have said.
No timescale has been put on the 24-year-old’s recovery, but he tweeted this evening: “On the road to recovery after surgery.”
The north London club had hoped that Walker could avoid surgery for the problem that has dogged him for five months - he has not played since he was substituted against Benfica in the 3-1 Europa League defeat by Benfica at White Hart Lane on March 13.
But Tottenham resorted to sending him for an operation in a bid to fix the long-standing problem.
“The England right back’s pre-season preparations were disrupted by the abdominal injury and the decision to have surgery was taken following further medical assessment by specialists,” Tottenham said in a statement.
Advertisement
Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham manager, had said before last month’s Premier League opener away to West Ham United that the club needed to be “calm” adding that the defender “may recover soon”.
However, with him not figuring in the draw at Upton Park or the subsequent wins over Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League and AEL Limassol in the Europa League qualifier or Sunday’s League defeat by Liverpool, the north London club decided that surgery was necessary.
The defender will miss the start of England’s qualifying campaign for the 2016 European Championship finals in France as well as the friendly against Norway at Wembley