McCarthy will delay further shoulder surgery

PALACE defender Paddy McCarthy will be forced to have further surgery on his injured shoulder - but manager Neil Warnock is hopeful the operation can be put off until the summer.

McCarthy fell awkwardly during training last week, damaging the pins inserted into his shoulder when he went under the knife earlier this year.

The Irish centre half missed the games at Preston and Queens Park Rangers this week and will be left out for the Middlesbrough game tomorrow. However, after taking advice from a specialist Warnock is hopeful McCarthy can be back in action after the two week international break.

"It's going to be a case of looking after the injury and seeing how it reacts to a game situation," confirmed Warnock.

"There is some damage to the pins in his shoulder which will require major surgery at some point.

"But there's a good chance that we can get him through matches if we manage the injury. The specialist wants him to play again as soon as possible to see how the shoulder is after a full match.

"We've got a two week break after this weekend so we'll probably throw him back in after that.

"If we can get 10-15 games out of him this season that might be a good option for us."

Warnock ruled out the possibility of getting another centre back in on loan, insisting if there was any transfer activity it wold be a striker he would be looking for.

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