Everton have announced that midfielder Darron Gibson will undergo knee surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan at the Aviva Stadium.
The Derry-born player injured his right knee in the 37th minute of the 3-1 victory and was taken from the field on a stretcher. He was replaced by Glenn Whelan in the holding role alongside Gibson’s club colleague James McCarthy.
Everton boss Roberto Martinez was at the stadium and spent some time with Gibson player in the medical room after the incident.
A statement on the club’s website read: “The length of time the 25-year-old will be best determined once the surgery is completed.
“However, the scans did confirm to Everton’s medical team that no additional damage was sustained to the structure of the right knee, ensuring all treatment and rehabilitation will be focused on repairing the damaged ACL.”
The injury is fresh blow for the player after missing the start of the season with a different knee problem.
His return to fitness, to feature in his first Premier League game of the season against Manchester City on October 5th, preceded his recall to the international scene last week.
Gibson made himself unavailable after Euro 2012 but the recent departure of manager Giovanni Trapattoni led to a recall for Ireland’s final two World Cup qualifiers by interim boss Noel King.
Speaking at this morning's media briefing, Republic of Ireland interim manager Noel King said: "I feel very bad for Darron Gibson, he's not good," admitted King. " It's awful. It might be a few months and won't be easy to get back this season."
