Everton FC

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Long Jagielka lay-off feared

27 Apr 2009 - 16:26:02

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Everton fear that Phil Jagielka will not be able to return to action before the start of next season in August.

The former Sheffield United defender will undergo knee surgery on Wednesday after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester City.

Head physio Mick Rathbone told the Toffees' official website: "We've checked him out and he's obviously very upset. But he's philosophical. He's looking to get the operation out of the way now and looking forward to day one of the recovery process.

"I can't wait until the operation is done on Wednesday and I can go and visit him on Thursday morning. It's then day one of the recovery and we can start counting down until when he plays again.

"Until you actually get the surgery done, you're not on the road to recovery. It's absolutely knocked everybody for six. At the training ground this morning everyone was feeling it.

"For the first 30 minutes after the game Jags was in a state of shock and then was very, very upset after that. What upset him was when he saw how upset the players, the coaches, the manager and the fans were.

"He's out of the FA Cup Final and nobody can get him that back. But he's a tough guy, he'll get on with it and he'll hopefully be back as good as new as near as possible to the start of next season."