Southend have suffered a huge blow as midfielder Alan McCormack has been ruled out for up to two months after scans revealed he needs surgery.The 24-year-old has suffered torn cartilage in his knee and will undergo surgery on Friday with a view to return to action in around eight weeks.

He told the official website: "I can't believe it. It happened in training when I planted my foot and it swelled up. At the time it didn't seem too bad and I managed to train two days later. But at the end of that session I felt it go again so I knew something must be up.

"They won't know exactly how bad it is until the keyhole surgery and if it's just a small tear I might be out for as little as four weeks.

"At the moment though I'm really down because after signing a new contract I was really looking forward to the new season."

More Football News from TEAMtalk