Wolves’ Stephen Ward may miss his first chance to line out for the boys in green as he is undergoing a knee operation today that will certainly rule him out for the rest of the premier league season.
Ward received his first senior international call-up in Giovanni Trapattoni’s summer training camp but it remains to be seen if he can take part due to the op.
He was suffering from an infection in his knee and played through the pain barrier.
Although he fears not joining up with Ireland at the end of May, Ward admits he had no choice but to go under the knife.
He said: “It’s something that has been troubling me all season and has got to be done. There was talk about maybe delaying the operation so I could join up with Ireland but the specialist said it was time to have the clean-up and to carry on could make it worse.
“I’ve also got to think about making sure I’m back for pre-season and so the extra couple of weeks before the end of the season will help.
“Of course it’s disappointing if I can’t join up with Ireland and I was looking forward to it but if it doesn’t happen, hopefully I’ll get another chance when I’m fit again.
“There’s always the thought that having played through the pain barrier I could give it a few more weeks but there’s no point risking any further damage.
