Swansea City manager Garry Monk says the club had no choice but to send Ki Sung-yueng for surgery.

The South Korean midfielder had been battling a sore knee for much of the season but the Swans said enough is enough and made sure he had the ongoing issue addressed before the summer.

"All players carry niggles and you have to decide whether you can manage it or it needs to be dealt with immediately," Monk said.

"Ki has been fantastic and you want someone who has done that well to be part of it to the end of the season, but you do not want to take any risks.

"He came back from (his loan spell at) Sunderland last summer with a sore knee and we were advised he could have the operation then, but he had the World Cup coming up," Monk said of the 26-year old.

"Understandably he did not want to miss that so he went, and since then his knee has been fine.

"But it had flared up a bit in recent weeks. We have had to manage it and give him a rest but he has still contributed really well."