Noble to go under the knife

Captain Mark Noble is the latest Hammer to undergo an operation this week after playing on with an injury for several months.  Michail Antonio and Cheik Kouyate had operations earlier this week and now it is Noble’s turn.

Mark Noble will have an operation to rectify a long-standing double hernia injury on Saturday and will, therefore, miss the remainder of the season.

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke confirmed on WHUFC.com that Noble has been playing with the painful condition for many weeks, but the skipper requested to delay the operation as long as possible.

“Mark has been playing in pain, but he is the captain and he wanted to do everything he could to ensure the Club retained its Premier League status,” Vandenbroucke confirmed.

“Mark is as brave as they come and he ignored the pain as best he could, but the Premier League takes it toll.

“We attended an appointment with the specialist on the evening before the Tottenham game and it was deemed that the surgery was now urgent, he played in the game and played a big part in our victory that ensured the Club’s safety.”

In March clarified the captain his absence from the first team by admitting he had been playing with an injury in recent games without fully telling the club the full extent of his problem.