Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has confirmed that striker Rhian Brewster is unlikely to play again this season.
The 21-year-old sustained a hamstring injury during the first half of the Blades ' 2-0 win against Peterborough last month and was forced off.
Heckingbottom has now revealed that the former Liverpool forward would be going under the knife on Tuesday.
Heckingbottom said of Brewster: "He’s having an operation tomorrow, which will rule him out probably for the season.
“If he’s back before, then it’s a bonus but we’re not counting on it. We’re going to help him through it. He’s got his head around it and been part of the decision-making process.
"It’s not the same injury, it’s totally different and needs different treatment.
“He’ll work hard to come back fitter and stronger, as he did last time.
"He was in a good place, his fitness levels were high, and we’ll want the same for him when he comes back next time.”
Brewster joined Sheffield United in October 2020 but had to endure a lengthy wait for his first goal for the club.
It took more than a year for him to find the net for the South Yorkshire side following a £23.5million move from Anfield.
After a 13-month wait, Brewster finally scored a league goal for United at the 35th time of asking against Blackburn Rovers in November.
He has since notched two further goals, against Bristol City and Luton, before suffering his injury against Posh on January 29.
Despite the huge fee Liverpool received for a player who never made a league appearance, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said that it was a tough decision to sanction Brewster's departure.
The German said: “It would not be possible for me to understate my love, respect and admiration for Rhian.
"Such a special guy on and off the pitch. I’m not going to lie, agreeing to that transfer was really hard.
“He is a natural-born goalscorer. It’s in his DNA. He is a coach’s dream as he is so eager to learn but also a beacon of positive energy.
"He had some really hard moments with us, but throughout he never once lost belief and he was always someone who would light up a room, even when he experienced really tough times."
The Blades host West Brom on Wednesday night hoping to make up ground on the Championship play-offs. Last time out Heckingbottom's side came from behind to beat Birmingham.
He said of the win: "It was a real good win, the fact that we fell behind and the way we responded, I felt we deserved it.
"The first half we were a little bit off but we got a lot more sharp moments in the second half.
"We've now put ourselves into an even better position to go on from this. We have games in hand on teams but that also gives us a tight schedule."
