CHIEDOZIE OGBENE HAS been dealt a blow in his bid to return from an injury that has sidelined him since September.

Ogbene, who had an operation to repair a knee injury, was back in training with Championship club Rotherham United last week.

However, manager Paul Warne has revealed that a setback has forced the 23-year-old winger to undergo another medical procedure.

Warne is eager for Ogbene to assist his side’s bid to avoid relegation, but he’s now unsure of when the former Limerick and Cork City star will be available.

“The surgeon went back into his knee on Friday and there was not any structural damage, so that is a real positive,” Warne said, as reported by the Yorkshire Post.

“However, with the excessive swelling, it could be an infection and they have taken swabs and it may take a couple of weeks to come back, which is time we really do not have to waste. We are so impatient with Chieo that we would love to have him back.”

Rotherham are in 22nd place in the Championship, three points from safety, ahead of tomorrow evening’s home game against Wayne Rooney’s Derby County.

Warne added: “He [Ogbene] has gone from training with the squad to back under the knife in three days. At the moment he is still in a bit of pain from the flushing of his knee on Friday, so I will not know anything more, scientifically, for another 10 days.”

Ogbene, who was born in Nigeria but grew up in Grange on the southside of Cork city, has never played international football at any level.

Last July, the Football Association of Ireland began the paperwork relating to his eligibility after he “expressed his desire to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level to national team boss Stephen Kenny,” an FAI statement explained.

He was one of Rotherham’s star performers last season as the Millers achieved promotion from League One.