Winston Reid expressed mixed emotions after undergoing season-ending surgery that will also force him to miss this summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup.

The New Zealand skipper had an operation this week to rectify a rare and chronic knee condition that has seen him play through the pain barrier for the past few weeks.

Reid will now rest and start his rehabilitation at Rush Green over the next fortnight, before continuing to work on a personal programme during his summer break before returning to prepare for pre-season training.

“I’m done for the season as I’ve had an operation. I’ve struggled with it for the last six weeks and it hasn’t got any better, so it’s just been about managing the load, really.

“I’ve been training just the day before games and doing some bits and bobs in the gym, but I had to get it sorted out.

“It’s a really weird thing, a bit of extra bone that needed removing and it had been causing a lot of pain in that area every time I was running or kicking the ball. It’s been a bit of a struggle for the last six weeks or so, so it’s something that I had to get sorted.”

It’s a really weird thing, a bit of extra bone that needed removing and it had been causing a lot of pain in that area every time I was running or kicking the ball Winston Reid

Reid’s surgery and subsequent rehabilitation mean the No2 will be absent when the All Whites travel to Russia for the Confederations Cup in June – the tournament contested by the holders of each of the six regional championships, along with the FIFA World Cup holders Germany and the host nation.

Naturally, the Auckland-born 2010 FIFA World Cup hero is gutted to be missing the competition, which also features Jose Fonte’s Portugal, Australia, Chile, Mexico and Cameroon.

“Obviously I’m really disappointed to be missing the Confederations Cup, but if I had gone there and played, it would not have got better,” he explained.

“If the Confederations Cup was nine or ten days away, I’d probably have given it a go, but the fact it is another month away and it’s not getting any better made my decision.

“We gave it a try for three weeks with some different methods to see if it would react in a different way, but unfortunately it didn’t, so I had to go in for an operation. It is what it is.”

Reid totalled 30 Premier League appearances in 2016/17, scoring two important goals against Sunderland and Swansea City and registering two assists.

Defensively, nobody has made more clearances, interceptions or blocks this season than the 28-year-old, who joined the Hammers from Danish club FC Midtjylland in August 2010.

In all, he has appeared 203 times in Claret and Blue, winning promotion in 2012 and the Hammer of the Year award the following season.