Gourcuff set for ankle op

The Frenchman is already set to miss a significant amount of his side's pre-season preparations and an operation would rule him out of their opening Ligue 1 and Champions League games.

Gourcuff described his injury to newspaper L'Equipe: "I have a piece of bone which goes into my joint and this has torn some cartilage."

Understandably manager Remi Garde is taking his time in making a decision on the matter. He said: "We are taking all necessary precautions, hoping that we obtain the desired effect.

"The operation is one of the solutions but we're not there yet."