NATHAN THOMAS was expected to leave Hartlepool United in January; now the club will be delighted to see him back in action by then.

Amid a fine start to the new season, Thomas has been ruled out for months. He suffered a groin tear in last weekend’s defeat at Barnet and now faces surgery.

Thomas has attracted plenty of attention with his seven goals and assists this season, with Pools expecting seven-figure bids for his services in the transfer window.

Now, however, Pools are likely to have him in their ranks for the second half of the campaign, such is the severity of his injury.

He will have surgery in Bradford today, then have two weeks complete rest before starting his rehabilitation under the guidance of club physio Ian Gallagher.

He said: “This is quite a rare injury but he will be in good hands because we have enlisted the services of the best surgeon in the business for this type of problem.

“If all goes to plan with the operation then I would expect to see Nathan back in action at some point in January.’’

Boss Craig Hignett admitted: “Now he’s been assessed we know more and he will be a big miss.

“Nathan has been a big player for us. The goals he has scored from nothing, the goals he has created and his pace means he will be a miss.

“But it gives someone else a chance to come in and some lads have been desperate to play – Nicky Deverdics and Michael Woods have been chomping at the bit and Jake Orrell has been doing well in training, so there’s a lot of lads desperate.

“This is a chance for them to step up. It’s frustrating for Nath, in a successful season he’s flying.’’

Hignett is unlikely to waver from his preferred 4-3-3 formation in the absence of Thomas, with two cup games to come – Stamford in the FA Cup on Sunday before Rochdale visit in the Football League Trophy on Wednesday – ahead of next Saturday’s home game with Cheltenham in League Two.

While Thomas misses out, Pools most experienced defenders are in line for a return.

Both Rob Jones (hip) and Matthew Bates (bone bruising) have been big misses in defence of late.

Bates has not played since the 1-1 draw with Newport on August 20, while Jones last turned out at Yeovil on September 10.

Hignett said: “Both are back training, they need fitness work. This is the first week really when they have both trained with the first-team.

“Rob had a reserve game last week, came through 55 minutes, but felt a bit stiff. He’s OK now. Batesy is different to Rob, he needs the training not games. He is confident in himself what he can do.

“It’s good to have them back, a calming influence in different ways. Rob is a talker, Batesy more by example.’’

He added: “Batesy has been out ages and he’s had a couple of weeks training on the grass with the lads, Rob is back in this week and they aren’t a million miles away.

“Being them back soon and they break down again and it’s another six weeks, so let’s make them perfect and ready.’’