WORCESTER City are unsure when Tristian Dunkley will return to action after he underwent an operation to repair his injured shoulder.

The winger suffered the dislocation against Corby Town last month when he fell awkwardly after going up for a header.

At the time, joint-manager Carl Heeley was hopeful of having Dunkley, who had forced his way into City’s starting line-up, back available in “five to six weeks”.

However, speaking after Worcester’s match was called off against Alfreton Town, Heeley confirmed Dunkley had gone under the knife.

“He had an operation the other day and we are still waiting for an update after that,” Heeley said.

“It will be two or three weeks before we get any timescale on what’s going to happen.”

Dunkley had previously spoken about his improvement in fitness after making a string of appearances in the number 11 shirt.

But the former Loughborough University ace, who has played 21 times this season, now looks set for a long spell on the sidelines.

It is the second time he has suffered a dislocated shoulder and surgery could rule him out for several months.

“We knew the operation had to be done,” Heeley said.

“It is frustrating but the operation went well, so hopefully he will make a quick recovery.”

City’s hopes of recording a third win in successive weeks were scuppered when their encounter with Alfreton was postponed.

The match at Aggborough had passed a pitch inspection at noon but, with just over an hour before kick-off and the rain continuing to fall heavily, the referee decided to call it off.

“I came down here about mid-morning and the pitch was the same as it was at 2pm,” he said.

“The reason the game was called off is because the referee had doubts as he felt the match would not last the full 90 minutes with the rain coming down.

“It was frustrating because we were all there and wanted to play.

“But, taking everything into consideration, the last thing we wanted to do is play 60 or 70 minutes and destroy the pitch because we have to be respectful to our landlords (Kidderminster Harriers) as well, so I think it was the right decision.

“It is a tough one to call because you can only look at the pitch as it is at the time but the rain was persistent and was forecasted for the rest of the day.”