Barnsley skipper played through the pain

While some supporters around the country question their respective players commitment, Barnsley skipper Stephen Foster was playing through the pain barrier in recent weeks.

Speaking to the Sheffield Star, the former Burnley defender said:

‘I’ve felt the pain for the last three weeks, but it just got worse,’

‘I was in real pain in the last 10 minutes of the Southampton game, that’s when I knew that I had to get something done.

‘The plan was to let the injury settle down and ease off training a little bit, but that wasn’t going to work so I decided to have the operation.

‘The pain was so bad it left me with no option but to try and get it fixed.

‘I had the week off before the Norwich City game and was going to train on the Friday, the day before the match but I wasn’t able too.’

However the 28-year-old is hoping to be back within three weeks, Fozzy continued:

‘I’ve had a few knee operations before and also had cruciate ligament damage, but this isn’t too serious an operation,’ added the 28-year-old.

‘Hopefully I’ll be back within three weeks, but it’s difficult to put a length of time on something like this.

‘The specialist told me the recovering time varies from individual to individual, but hopefully I could be back training after a week or so.

‘I’m going to try and get through this as quickly as I can because I hate missing any game. ‘

The Tykes are yet to score a goal in 2009 but the Barnsley captain insists the next few fixtures will determine how strong the Reds can be:

‘The next few games should really show the character of the team,’ he said.