Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on the knee injury he sustained against Burnley.
Forster was injured during the Saintsa 2-0 home victory over Burnley on Saturday and a scan on Monday showed he had suffered damage to his left patellar tendon
The England stopper was stretchered off during Saturday’s win after appearing to twist his knee as Sam Vokes closed him down.
He was immediately taken to hospital and subsequently withdrawn from Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions squad.
Southampton have confirmed he successfully underwent surgery on the problem this week.
Normally an injury of this nature takes around 9 to 12 months to heal ,but the Saints will make a long term prediction of the England international’s return after having assessed once the effects of his operation have settled down with the club’s medical staff confident he will make full recovery.
Southampton Executive Director of Football Les Reed said: “Fraser is an outstanding goalkeeper and has been a huge part of our success this season.
“While this is a challenging situation, we look forward to him returning to action as soon as he is fully fit.
a I am sure he will go on to make a significant number of appearances for Southampton and for England, and will get the best support available to help him recover to do so.
a No one will be any sadder than Kelvin Davis, who did an outstanding job replacing Fraser in such circumstances. Nobody could be better to step into the fray in terms of experience and ability.”
a Kelvin is a big-game player, who will be ably supported by Paulo Gazzaniga and Cody Cropper. I am sure the team will now be even more motivated to ensure we stay miserly in front of our goal and ruthless at the other end.”
Forster’s injury came after fellow England stopper Ben Foster was ruled out for six months after damaging his cruciate knee ligaments.
Forster, who has been ever present for Saints this season after moving from Celtic for A?10m last August,will be huge miss for Southampton as they look to finish the season strongly.