DYSON Heppell's preparations for the 2015 season have hit a snag, with the star midfielder undergoing minor knee surgery on Tuesday morning.
Heppell complained of soreness in his knee during Monday's training session, leading to him having scans.
Bombers doctor Bruce Reid said the minor surgery would give Heppell the best chance to be ready for the start of the season, expecting he will be off the training track for two weeks.
"Dyson will have an arthroscopy to remove a small piece of cartilage which had become a loose body," Reid told the club’s website.
“(Surgeon) Julian Feller will operate on Dyson this morning and we expect he'll be back training in two weeks’ time."
Heppell said the surgery would have him fit and ready for the start of the season.
"(I'm) back in for a little clean-out today, so nothing to worry about really," he told reporters outside the Epworth Hospital on Tuesday morning.
"It's good that it's only a minor operation and it'll be a good time to freshen up, I think, and be right to go."
Meanwhile, star Bombers Michael Hurley and Jake Carlisle made their returns to full training last week.
As expected, gun midfielder David Zaharakis has also been cleared of any serious knee damage.
Zaharakis sustained a low-grade medial ligament strain when he was tackled in a match simulation drill at training 10 days ago, but Reid expects him to be in full training next week.
Defender Tayte Pears has also taken a positive step in his recovery from a long-term heel injury.
He returned to light training last week.
“While he’s still a number of weeks off, we’re really happy because Tayte is now out there and running at a decent crack,” Reid said.
Youngster Will Hams also injured his foot in the same session Zaharakis went down, but again the news is positive.
"Will severely 'plantar flexed' his foot and as a result, he’s torn ligaments on the top of his foot," Reid said.
"These are minor and the MRI has cleared him of serious injury so we should have him running by the end of the week."
