By Simon P - posted by John P
September 8 2005

Gary Naysmith has been forced to undergo yet another operation it emerged yesterday, meaning that this summer he has spent more time in an operating theatre than most of Everton's players have spent on the pitch.

The wound left after he had his second operation to remove a splinter of bone is believed to have become infected, and because anti-biotics failed to clear the infection, it has been necessary for him to undergo a procedure known as debridement, a method of cleaning infected tissue surgically. "Gary has had an incredible stroke of bad luck," said Everton's physio Mick Rathbone on the official website. "He developed a deep infection after his previous operation.

"It didn't settle with antibiotics so it had to be opened up again, explored and cleaned out.

"Obviously, something like that is potentially quite serious.

"It looks like he is going to be okay and he will recover but it is another stroke of bad luck for him.

"It is a real shame for the guy. He has had so many problems over the last six months and everybody feels bad.

"He is in hospital for a few days to make sure the ankle remains clean. We are hoping he will have a full recovery.

"Any kind of deep infection can be serious, especially with a professional footballer. They opened up the wound last week, cleaned it all out and left it open.

"They are monitoring it every day and hopefully on Wednesday, it will be closed again and he will be completely okay.

"But it was a terrible scare for everybody and it was a terrible blow for him bearing in mind the infection percentages. But he is a tough lad and a fighter.

"Everybody is very upset for him because he is such a popular guy, probably the most popular at the club."

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