WORCESTER City midfielder David Holmes will undergo surgery on both groins next month.
The 30-year-old goes under the knife on June 17 to clear up the condition known as Gilmore's Groin, which is caused by wear and tear.
Holmes, who signed from Ilkeston Town last September, endured a frustrating finale to City's Dr Martens Premier Division campaign in which he missed the last three months of the season.
The operation will rule him out of at least the first week of pre-season which starts in early July.
Meanwhile, the former Bromsgrove Rovers management duo of Gary Hackett and Jon Ford have taken over at Midland Alliance outfit Stourbridge.
Hackett has described the appointment as a challenge.
"In some ways we are on a hiding to nothing because they've won the league for the last two years, but the chairman has walked out and a lot of the money's gone so we have got to build a team from scratch," said Hackett.
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