SOUTHEND United striker Stephen Humphrys will undergo surgery next week.

Humphrys broke his nose and suffered a fractured cheekbone and eye socket when scoring at Accrington Stanley in February.

And Blues boss Chris Powell has now confirmed Humphrys will need an operation. 

“Stephen will have an operation next week and it’s been delayed until next week because of the complexity of the fracture and the injury,” said Powell.

“He’s got a broken nose, cheekbone and eye socket and it’s very, very serious.

“We won’t know if he can play again this season until after the operation but it will be a number of weeks before he is back playing again, which is obviously a shame.”