Thursday 29 December 2016 20:25, UK
Groningen star Martijn Meerdink has been sidelined after undergoing surgery on his ankle.
Groningen star Martijn Meerdink has been sidelined after undergoing surgery on his ankle.
The 31-year-old Dutch international has a condition known as 'footballer's ankle' and he has had to go under the knife, which should sideline him for around two weeks.
"I have got a football ankle," Meerdink told Groningen's website.
"It is a complaint that some footballers get to deal with when they are 28 and others when they are 35.
"In the last ten years I have had a lot taps against it. On the scan you can se some old little cracks and little fractures and there is also something wrong with my cartilage."
Meerdink is hopeful he will be back within a couple of weeks, but it could be longer.
"If there appears to be something really wrong with the cartilage, then the recovery can take six to eight weeks."
Another Groningen player sidelined with an ankle injury is Koen van de Laak - who sustained torn ankle ligaments against De Graafschap at the weekend.
Van de Laak will now miss the rest of the season.
