IRELAND DEFENDER Marc Wilson is facing up to three months on the sidelines.
The Stoke man broke his leg last weekend in the scoreless draw with Sunderland as national team boss Giovanni Trapattoni watched on.
Wilson underwent an operation this morning, tweeting afterwards: “Just out of surgery. Thank god that’s over. The whole medical team where different class and done a great job.”
And Potters boss Tony Pulis says he’s optimistic Wilson might return quicker than expected.
“It’s three months at least I think but we are hoping, with the medical staff we have got and the way they overachieve in lots of respects, it might even be quicker than that — fingers crossed,” he told the club’s website today.
“Obviously, we will miss Marc because for me he has been our best defender this season. He is a very under-rated lad and he has immense quality on the ball.”
Pulis also confirmed that Wilson’s Ireland team-mate Glenn Whelan is back in the mix for a starting spot. The midfielder — a mainstay in Trap’s teams — missed the last two games due a hamstring injury.
“Glenn is back in contention now which is good news for us. Him and Deano (Dean Whitehead) are battling it out for that spot in the team, but they are good friends off the pitch, so it is a good battle between them,” he added.
