GRAEME STORM is set for surgery early next week that will effectively bring a premature and cruel end to his 2018 season.

The Hartlepool-born Tour pro is set to have an operation on his problematic right wrist on Monday after becoming increasingly frustrated with the long term issue.

Storm has suffered from the injury since the end of last year but has put off surgery in the hope things will take a turn for the better.

However, having had to withdraw from the Trophee Hassan II last week he has now made the decision along with his medical team to go under the knife in the hope of finding a solution to the issue.

Storm said: “I will need the recovery time after Monday’s operation, with the specialist telling me it should be four to six months before I can play again. It’s deeply frustrating.

“But it is a recurring injury and I have to get it right. That’s sport. You can get niggles that don’t go away and that develops into inflammation within joints, that’s what has happened and I need to get it sorted.

“I have put it off with Cortisone injections. I have had a choice of more injections or surgery this time. If I’d had the injections then I’d have only ended up playing 15 or 17 tournaments anyway and merely delayed the surgery.”

Storm is devastated to have had to make the decision. His decision has arrived on the back of increased frustrations on the Tour because he has felt the wrist injury has prevented him from finding his feet this year.

The 40-year-old – who won the South Africa Open in January last year - has only made three of eight cuts this year and his strongest finish was a lowly tied 50th at the Maybank Championship.

Storm said: “It’s been a frustrating year already. I would say six out of the eight tournaments I have played in I have been injured. I had an injection in December so I could start the season but in hindsight that put me back.

“I was preparing for the new season and I couldn’t play as much building up to it as I wanted so that injection at least got me playing; my preparation for the new season was affected.

“I went to defend the title in South Africa, I wanted to defend it and I was desperate to. I didn’t want to not play. But I had had very little preparation for it.

“I really feel like I have only played two tournaments where I was 80 or 90 per cent, but still not fully fit. It’s been a shame after a great season last year. But that’s sport, it can happen in any sport at the top level.

“Look at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain getting injured for Liverpool the other night in the Champions League semi-final. Not only will he miss that now he will also miss the World Cup. It can happen. What you have to do is make a good recovery and you need to make sure you come back stronger.

“Fingers crossed the surgery will help. It’s all planned out, I don’t want to rush myself back too soon. I have to do it by the book and make sure it doesn’t flare up again.”

Storm had planned to have a few weeks off in May anyway. He will be at Hartlepool Golf Club on Monday, May 7 for the third Graeme Storm Junior Open, and then he will be at Wynyard Golf Club on May 19 for the first Mini-Storm Open.