Aberdeen star Niall McGinn is set to spend the next three months on the sidelines as he is forced to undergo surgery to repair ligament damage to his ankle, according to a report.
The Evening Express report that the Dons winger will go under the knife to repair the damage done when the Northern Irishman was injured in training prior to the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Celtic.
McGinn was already expected to miss the rest of the season after picking up the injury last month – and will now face a race against time to be fit for the start of the new campaign.
The former Celtic star has scored eight times this season for the Pittodrie side in 37 appearances and will be a big miss in the final weeks of the campaign.
Dons manager Derek McInnes is already without wingers Connor McLennan and Gary Mackay-Steven while on-loan attacker Greg Stewart is also carrying a knock ahead of the clash with Celtic this weekend.
McGinn should be back in time for the start of the new league campaign in August but will almost certainly miss the start of the Dons’ Europa League challenge – should they qualify – with games getting underway in July.