WORCESTER City ace Connor Gater is set to miss the rest of the season after going under the knife to repair his troublesome toe.

The midfielder has been hampered by the problem since pre-season and made just one substitute appearance for City.

Although he was part of Stourbridge’s run to the FA Cup third round, the 24-year-old did not complete a full 90 minutes.

Gater underwent the operation last month and is half way through an “eight-to-10-week process” to recover from the surgery.

Caretaker boss John Snape said it would be a “massive boost” to get Gater back before the campaign draws to a close next month.

But the chances of a return appear unlikely as Snape admitted the England schoolboy international was unable to do any work on his foot.

“Connor had surgery on his big toe to remove some bone fragments and to shave the bone to a level where he can play,” Snape said.

“I spoke to Connor about a week ago and he was doing rehab.

“He can’t do anything on his foot.

“From now until the end of the season the surgeon doesn’t feel at the minute that he will be able to play.

“We will look at his progress and wish him all the best in his rehab to get fit.”

Gater played 37 times last term, but his only outing this campaign came in a 3-0 defeat at Gloucester City in late January.

“Connor has struggled with his toe,” Snape continued.

“He picked it up in pre-season and it hasn’t got better. He has gone out on loan, but it started hurting again and he is now trying to get it sorted.

“Originally there were a few complications so it has taken longer than we had hoped, but it is an injury you can’t judge.

“We will see how he goes. It might go two ways. He might get better from it or it might affect him.

“But at the end of the day after a couple of injections we found that surgery was the next best options for him to be pain free and be able to run never mind kick a ball properly as it has hurt him that much.

“If he is back before the end of the season, it would be a massive bonus for the club, but at the minute the rehab is still going to take four to six weeks.

“He had the surgery five weeks ago and it is an eight-to-10-week process without complications.”