Koren out of West Bromwich Albion team for hernia operation

Nov 30 2009 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

ROBERT Koren will be out of action until Christmas after scans confirmed he will need a hernia operation.

The Albion midfielder missed Saturday’s win at Sheffield Wednesday, having been in discomfort for some weeks.

He finally went for tests on Friday where it was revealed he would need corrective surgery.

Roberto Di Matteo expects the Slovenian to be out for about a month.

“Roko will need an operation,” said Di Matteo.

“He’s got a hernia in his groin area and he’ll be out for three to four weeks.”

The Baggies are on 37 points after 18 games, maintaining the two-points-per-game ratio normally needed to secure promotion.

Di Matteo is keen to keep expectations and excitement in check.

“I’ve been in this job for five months and I still believe there is a lot of work to do,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve done too bad.

“We’re the highest scoring team in the Championship and have the second best defence with Leicester and Swansea.

“Newcastle has a budget of £45 million and we’re only two points behind them.

“We like to focus the attentions on ourselves and try to win our games. The rest look after themselves and don’t bother us as long as we win.”