Middlesbrough will push for their return to the Premier League without Alfie Jones.
The Canada defender underwent surgery for an ankle injury on Tuesday, picked up in the team’s scoreless draw with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day. Jones came off in the 17th minute.
Jones, 28, made his debut for Canada in a 2-0 win over Venezuela in a September friendly.
TeesideLive’s Craig Johns reports Jones is expected to miss the next eight to 10 weeks, which does not rule him out for the season and gives him time to recover ahead of June’s World Cup.
A native of Bristol, England, Jones is in his first season at Boro after coming over from Hull City with whom he spent the past five seasons. Starting all of the 22 games in which he’s appeared in the Championship, Jones has a goal and an assist in 1,882 minutes of play.
Jones was never considered for Canada’s upcoming January camp ahead of a Jan. 17 friendly in Los Angeles with Guatemala with almost exclusively North American-based players selected for the 20-man roster.
Boro currently sits second in the table on 46 points, two points clear of Ipswich for the second automatic promotion place. They trail league leaders Coventry City by six points. Boro returns to action on Saturday with a visit to Fulham in a third-round FA Cup tie.
