Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie has undergone an operation on his ankle.
The Scotland international has been out of action since August.
He has been recovering from a nasty challenge by Hamza Choudhury in the League Cup lost to Leicester City.
The Chronicle says a decision was made to have the surgery to "clear up the area" around his ankle.
Ritchie had recently returned to first-team training but his return now looks likely to be further away than anticipated.
