HUDDERSFIELD Town's Oscar Gobern is ruled out until New Year after surgery.
The 21-year-old Town midfielder has had his right ankle wired up to help cure a niggling problem.
The former Southampton player has been sidelined since the opening Capital One Cup defeat at Preston in August.
Frustrated by constant setbacks, he has been unable to join Scott Arfield and Anton Robinson in putting pressure on established shirt-holders Oliver Norwood, Keith Southern and Adam Clayton.
As the senior squad prepared for Saturday’s Championship clash with Wolves at the John Smith’s Stadium – one which is expected to attract the biggest crowd of the season so far – boss Simon Grayson said: “Oscar has been struggling with this injury all season.
“We reached the decision to put him in for surgery to clear it up once and for all, and he’s now had it done.
“We are all disappointed, but he’s still a young man and the aim now is to get him fighting fit for his return early in the New Year.”
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Birmingham-born Gobern went under the knife on Tuesday, when clubmate Norwood was starring in Northern Ireland’s 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw in Portugal.
Town physio James Haycock explained Gobern will be on crutches for a week and rehabilitation would take from two to three months.
“We’ve tried to do all we can to avoid putting Oscar through surgery by remedying the issue through strengthening, but he reached the running stage and it was clear the ankle wouldn’t settle down,” said Haycock.
“Oscar underwent a procedure on his right ankle which basically tightened all around the joints surrounding the troublesome ligament using wires.
“He should be on crutches for a maximum of one week before we start to step up his rehabilitation, with an aim to get him back available for selection between eight and 12 weeks.”
All 9,000-plus Town season card holders have been e-mailed with an offer to take a friend to the Wolves game for just £10.
And the club are hoping the attendance will be boosted further because it’s the first Schools Focus match, where over 3,000 tickets have been offered to schools for £10.
