Sunderland midfielder Jason McAteer may have to have another hernia operation, despite the fact that he only returned to training last week after a first operation.
The Republic of Ireland international was sent to a specialist this week after suffering a set-back to his comeback plans, and was greeted by the news that he may be out for another two months.
'Jason McAteer faces the possibility of another operation which is going to keep him out for a further six to eight weeks. He has got an abdominal hernia as opposed to the one in the groin. It's a very, very uncommon injury for a footballer, more common in rugby players, and there has been a side complication to it which on second opinion may require surgery,' Sunderland boss Howard Wilkinson confirmed today.
'But we don't know exactly at the moment until we have looked at other things and we will see how it pans out over the next couple of days. The problem has arisen because of the first operation and Jason was pretty low before he went for the second opinion. I hope now he is a bit more positive in the sense that the situation has been cleared up a little,' added Wilkinson.
Filed by Tom Grealis
