JAMAAL LASCELLES is to undergo surgery to heal a long-standing problem in a bid to ensure he is fit for Newcastle United’s big return to the Premier League.

The highly-rated Magpies captain - named in the PFA Championship team of the year - is understood to have required a double hernia operation after playing with the issue for the last four months.

It means Lascelles misses Newcastle’s title deciding game with Barnsley at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, and will spend the summer hoping his rehabilitation goes to plan.

A club statement read: “Newcastle United can confirm that Jamaal Lascelles is set to undergo a groin operation on Tuesday evening.

“The defender, who has captained United to Premier League promotion this term, missed Friday night’s victory away to Cardiff City in preparation for his operation and is now due to return for pre-season training at the start of July.”

There has been significant interest in the centre-back this season from top end Premier League clubs, and the likes of Chelsea have previously weighed up a big money offer.

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez will listen to offers for some of his players, knowing a few sales could boost his own transfer spending, but would prefer to keep his captain when he recovers.

Benitez is due to have talks with owner Mike Ashley and managing director Lee Charnley to discuss a plan of action, although there are thoughts he could demand around £100m to invest in the squad.

The Newcastle boss knows his promotion winning squad is well short of the sort of quality required to make a real impression in the Premier League – and he doesn’t want to just go back and endure a relegation struggle.

Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and defender Chancel Mbemba are two of the likeliest contenders to be sold this summer and selling Lascelles is not high in his thinking at this stage.

There is every chance he will be on Tyneside when the new season starts in August and Benitez hopes the operation allows him to find top gear during pre-season.

Lascelles was told he needed surgery by a specialist after the 4-1 victory over Preston which sealed an automatic return to the top-flight.

He missed the trip to Cardiff ahead of the surgery and it has since become apparent he has played with the problem for months.

The Newcastle captain has played in almost every game and even when there have been changes for certain games he has tended to stay at the heart of the defence.

Lascelles’ form has dipped since the turn of the year and that could be explained by his injury problem.

He struck up a strong partnership with Ciaran Clark at the heart of the Newcastle defence, while Benitez is sure to be looking to strengththen defensive areas ahead of the Premier league season. Mbemba and Grant Hanley have struggled to force their way ahead of those two.

Newcastle are already looking at options in the transfer market and Celtic’s Jozo Simunovic is one of those to have caught the eye of a number of clubs and interest from St James’ has been credited. The 22-year-old has spent the last two years in Glasgow after moving from Dinamo Zagreb.

Newcastle, West Brom and Crystal Palace are all keen, although there is also interest from abroad. He was close to joining Torino last summer only for a knee injury to put paid to it and that has benefited Celtic’s unbeaten charge to the Scottish title.

Simunovic’s form and importance has seen his value soar towards the £10m mark under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, who had looked like selling him for a third of that less than a year ago.