Allen Op Means He'll Miss Season Start

Joe Allen has been dealt a big blow as his recent shoulder operation means he looks set to miss the start of the season.

The midfielder says he originally picked up the injury when he was just 16, but he didn't have it treated at the time - and now it's affecting him.

He said:

'I had the operation on May 19 and the surgeon told me I can't do any contact work for 12 weeks,'

'That takes me right up to the start of the season, so realistically I don't think I'm going to make it.

'The good thing is that I should be able to keep up with the fitness side of things in pre-season, but I am probably going to miss all the games.

'Hopefully I can get my fitness to a good level anyway, and that way I won't need too many games before I'm thrown back in.'

'I don't know what I was thinking playing rugby and I've learned my lesson,' he added.

'I was tackled by someone and landed awkwardly, but being young I didn't really think much of it at the time.

'Now the injury has caught up with me.

'It got to the stage last season where it was giving me pain in games even when I was doing something simple like holding a player off.

'There was no good time to have the operation, but it's something that had to be sorted out.'

Joe Allen had a forgetful season last year as he made just 14 starts for the Swans. Now he hopes for a much better one next term:

'I've talked about my injuries last season and how it wasn't a great year for me,'

'To have to go and have surgery on something else was a big blow, but I have to remember that there are a lot of games in a season and hopefully I will only miss one or two.'

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