Hull City manager Steve Bruce has revealed that goalkeeper Allan McGregor and defender Alex Bruce could be sidelined for six months with injuries.
McGregor was absent for the closing stages of the Tigers' Premier League promotion campaign last season, and is now due to undergo surgery on his troublesome back.
Bruce, who is the manager's son, will also go under the knife after suffering an Achilles problem.
"We gave Allan a rest over the summer having missed the best part of the final month of last season, but he hasn't really progressed," Bruce told reporters.
"As soon as we stepped up the training on Sunday, it was no use and it looks as though he will need an operation. Surgery was always going to be the last resort with Allan because it's a horrible, complex operation. We hoped that the rest we gave him and the programme we put him on would be sufficient – we had to give him that rather than just put someone straight under the knife.
"Alex has damaged his Achilles so much so that he also needs an operation and he will have that on Thursday. It's unfortunate because the pair of them are going to be out for between four and six months, and as you can imagine they are both distraught at the moment. They're severe injuries and you don't want that at this particular time, however with the way medical departments work these days we wish them both a speedy recovery."
Hull, who worked their way back into the top flight by winning the playoff final in May, are currently in Portugal for pre-season.
