Claus Lundekvam is experiencing a strange mixture of relief and "devastation" that his long running ankle problem will hopefully be fixed by surgery today.

The Saints skipper is going under the knife to put right the problem that has bugged him since the end of last season.

He is facing up to between six weeks and three months more out of the reckoning depending on what damage is found.

Lundekvam's absence has been a big blow for George Burley and the player himself.

But, while disappointed, it has come to this, the Norwegian can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Speaking in his exclusive Echo column today, he said: "I'm devastated to have to have an operation on my ankle today.

"But I am staying positive because I know this is the first step to getting back to full fitness. It's very unfortunate it's come to this because I've been really hopeful all along of getting fit without an operation, but then again I've really felt something there nagging.

"It's come to a stage now where after two days training last week it was back to square one."

He added: "Obviously I'm devastated I'm going to miss a considerable amount of the season but glad that hopefully this will be it.

"If they can fix it, I'm looking forward to getting back to fitness without any pain."

See Claus Lundekvam's column exclusively in today's Daily Echo.