Imran Louza has undergone surgery on the ankle injury he sustained in the first half of last week’s defeat at Millwall.

The midfielder posted a picture from his hospital bed this afternoon, showing a heavily-bandaged ankle and the simple caption ‘Done’

The injury means the 23-year-old will miss the upcoming World Cup, in which Morocco have been drawn in Group F with Belgium, Canada and Croatia.

Louza made 20 Premier League appearances last season after joining in summer 2021 from Nantes.

At the end of last season he underwent knee surgery which ruled him out for the start of this campaign, and he made his first Championship appearance as a substitute in the 4-0 win at Stoke on October 2.

His stunning free-kick was the only highlight of the 3-1 defeat at Blackpool, and he followed up with another goal in the 2-1 win over Norwich at Vicarage Road on October 15.

The injury occurred a little over 15 minutes into the game at The Den, and he was stretchered off after receiving lengthy treatment.

Two days after that head coach Slaven Bilic confirmed the worst: “Imran is unfortunately going to be out for a long time.

“He has broken the fibula bone, but that injury doesn’t have to a big one because that can be a few weeks. It’s because the ligament is also damaged, and when that is damaged it requires longer.

“It is a big blow for us and a big blow for the player. He is a player that is impossible to replace. He’s unique. We don’t have that kind of replacement but we’ll have to change the way we play and try to be positive.

“Imran will be back. If he recovers well, which he will because he is a strong character, he will be back for the crucial part of the season.”

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