Manchester United and England goalkeeper Ben Foster looks
set to miss a large chunk of his first season at Old Trafford after
undergoing knee surgery. The 24-year-old prospect has had
exploratory surgery on a ligament problem that bothered him
throughout the recent campaign on loan at Watford and may now have
to go under the knife again.
Foster withdrew from the England B squad last week after suffering
a recurrence of pain that had troubled him in recent months and
that prevented him from fully extending his right knee. An
operation at Manchesters Alexandra Hospital in recent days enabled
surgeons to clean out Fosters knee but a decision is yet to be
taken on whether the player needs further surgery that would rule
him out for months or a shorter period of rest. At the moment it
appears likely that Foster will need another operation, which will
come as a huge blow to a goalkeeper who had harboured hopes of
displacing United No 1 Edwin van der Sar next season.
A source close to Foster said last night: "Ben has had some trouble
fully extending his knee and its a tribute to him that he still
managed to kick so well. "The priority now is to sort it out."
Foster enjoyed a productive season with Watford despite
relegation and enjoyed his senior England debut against Spain at
Old Trafford. He is viewed as the long-term successor to Van der
Sar.
