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Tony Pulis has revealed Lewis Wing needs surgery on a hernia - but the Boro boss hasn't ruled out the possibility of the midfielder returning before the end of the season.

Boro want Wing under the knife as quickly as possible but the time-frame of his recovery depends on when they can get the operation done.

The club have identified the exact surgeon they want to carry out the operation, the same surgeon who fixed Darren Randolph's hernia last summer.

Wing has been playing through the pain barrier for the last few weeks but after an appearance from the bench against Bristol City on Tuesday night, Pulis sat the midfielder down and told him to listen to his body and get the problem sorted.

The midfielder will miss a large chunk, if not all of Boro's run-in. But Pulis hasn't completely dismissed the possibility of him returning before the end of the campaign. And if Boro do make the play-offs, the 23-year-old could boost the manager's options.

Asked whether he thinks Wing's season is over, Pulis said: "We're not sure."If we can get him in quick then who knows, we might be able to get him back for the back end of it. If we can get it done quick.

"But we want it done by a specific person, we don't want it done by anyone else. We want it done by the person who did Randolph's, they're good and they get them done quickly. It's done in a way that we believe is the best way for it to be done.

"He's had such a great season. But it's a hernia and it needs to be done."

(Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

Wing has been one of Boro's players of the season, emerging so impressively after shining on loan at Yeovil last season. He had to bide his time in the first half of the season but has been a first team fixture in recent months. But Pulis has been open about the fact the former non-league man has been playing in pain of late.

"At Villa and in other games, he has dropped off," said the manager.

"Even Tuesday, I pulled him on Monday, he had flu on Sunday and hadn't been involved.

"On the Monday I pulled him and said, 'Lewis, if we need you for half an hour, someone to smash one in'. He said, 'yeah, I'm fine'. He went out there and he was bloody awful.

"We had to pull him Wednesday and say, 'Lewis listen, because I've asked you can't just say yes, you've got to sit down and talk to me on an even level'.

"Then he said he'd felt he was struggling over the past couple of weeks. He couldn't get the power in his left side that he'd had before. It was quite evident on Tuesday he was struggling."

(Image: Simon Moore/Focus Images Ltd)

Pulis has no other injury problems ahead of Saturday's game at Swansea, though Boro will obviously be without Rajiv van La Parra, who returned to Huddersfield this week.

"Raj has had to go back to Huddersfield which is a disappointment for us," said the boss.

"Even in training, having watched him and played against him, I thought he'd be a really good signing.

"He's come and he had problems with his back."