Jermaine Jones is likely to be out of action for at least a month according to New England Revolution.
The defensive midfielder underwent successful hernia surgery on Tuesday with the Revs releasing a statement that he is unlikely to be fit for the 2015 MLS season opener on March 8 and could quite possibly miss as many as six weeks.
New England head coach Jay Heaps said the procedure was organized to help the USA international get over a niggling problem now rather than later in the campaign.
"He's a guy that keeps going no matter what," Heaps said on the club's official website.
"It's surgery and it's significant enough that he's going to miss some time. We just want to be prepared. We think it's best to make sure that we take care of it now rather than later.
"It's better to make sure we don't have any long-term absences during the main part of the season."
