Operation ends Hayles season
Monday, December 9, 2002
Article summary
Fulham FC striker Barry Hayles will miss the rest of the season after having neck surgery on Tuesday.
Article body
Fulham FC striker Barry Hayles will be ruled out for the rest of the season, and the club's UEFA Cup campaign, after having neck surgery tomorrow.
Tuesday operation
The severity of the problem first became apparent in his last first-team game in the English League Cup on 6 November. Since then, Hayles has been under constant observation from the Fulham medical team.
Medical investigations
"Once I got going in games and the adrenaline was pumping, the pain wasn't a problem," he said on the club's official website. "But once I'd finished and started to cool down my neck would be very stiff." Investigations by the Fulham medical team identified a degenerative problem with the discs in his neck which, in turn, put pressure on his spinal cord structure.
Constant observation
Surgery was identified as a possibility in the initial stages of the diagnosis, although specialists were keen to give the injury time to improve naturally. Fulham welcome German side Hertha BSC Berlin in the second leg of their UEFA Cup third-round tie next Thursday, looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Germany.
