GAA:Cork's Daniel Goulding will be sidelined for three months after undergoing surgery on his right ankle.
The Rebel attacker is set to miss the opening rounds of the Allianz Football League due to the injury he picked up against Down in the All-Ireland qualifier in July.
Goulding did return to the field following rehabilitation, for club Éire Óg, but a scan revealed the problem remained and he made a decision to undergo surgery to correct the problem in his tendon.
"The ankle was still niggling me so I went for a scan a few weeks ago to see how it was," said Goulding.
"When the results came back they saw that there was still damage to the tendon in the ankle. So I had to get the operation to get it sorted. If you put it off, there's a chance it'd start giving trouble in the middle of the season and you'd miss games.
"It needed to be done and you're better off getting an operation at this time of year when it's quiet. I'll miss the start of the league but all going well I'll be back soon enough."