Knee op for striker

Striker James Vaughan has finally had the cartilage surgery which he had been waiting for, four weeks after picking up the injury.

The striker was expected to have the operation in Colorado under the specialist surgeon Dr Richard Steadman but he broke an arm in a skiing accident and had to cancel.

That forced a change of plan and Vaughan went under the knife yesterday to repair lateral cartilage damage.

"James had his operation yesterday and everything went very well," confirmed Everton assistant manager Steve Round to the Post.

"We now wish him a speedy recovery, and hopefully he should be fit before the end of the season.

"But we will have to keep a tab on that and see how it goes over the next few weeks."