Kevin Nolan has confirmed one of his Northampton Town attackers will miss their final two games because of a knee operation.
The Cobblers are guaranteed to play League One football next season after they beat Shrewsbury Town on Easter Monday.
Their safety allows players who have been struggling with injuries to take a step back and undergo operations to ready them for next season.
Northampton Town manager, Nolan, has confirmed that’s the case for their striker, Sam Hoskins.
Nolan confirms Hoskins to undergo surgery
32-year-old Hoskins, who has been at the club for 10 years, will have an operation on his knee to make sure he’s ready for pre-season next season.
Speaking to the BBC, Nolan said:
“Sam’s going to go under the knife so we can get him ready for pre-season – we’re not going to risk him anymore.
“He’s been terrific and you can see the adulation of the fans to him, and what he’s done for this club, but we made that decision last week. I was sad because he didn’t get to have that moment on [the pitch on] Monday.
“He was a part of it because he was in and around the lads and the dressing room, but knowing Sam he would have been a bit gutted he wasn’t on the pitch and creating and having chances to score.”
Hoskins has been a big part of the success at Northampton Town, helping guide them to League One and guaranteeing their safety last season and this season.
Since joining from Yeovil Town in August 2015, the forward has scored 99 goals in 417 games. He was also voted the League Two Player of the Year in the 2022/23 season.
How has Hoskins played for Northampton Town this season?
The Cobbler striker has played 37 games for the club in League One this season. In those 37 games, he’s scored seven goals and picked up one assist. His performances in the league have seen him receive an average Sofascore rating of 6.82.
He leads the club for total shots per game with 1.7 and has had 0.5 shots on target per game.
He’s also been useful from the penalty spot for the Cobblers. The attackers scored two out of three of his spot kicks, a success rate of 67%.
Is this the right decision by Northampton?
Given they’ve nothing left to play for, the timing is right for Hoskins to have the operation on his knee.
By opting to do it now, he’ll have more time to recover from the surgery to make sure he’s ready for the start of pre-season.
Even as he approaches the back end of his career. He’s proven he’s still a key player for the Cobblers and when he’s firing, the side are at their best.