Joe Ledley is on a collision course with Cardiff after admitting his poor form of late is as a result of his need to undergo a hip operation which the Welsh club are putting off for the time being.
The Wales international has been a shadow of his usual self this season as his contract saga drags on, with chairman Peter Ridsdale this week telling supporters at a public meeting that Ledley was "playing like he was somewhere else".
But the midfield lynchpin has now revealed he has been playing for the past three months with a hip injury that is seriously restricting his movement, and that manager Dave Jones does not want to lose his star man for at least 10 weeks in order to undergo the procedure.
Ledley told the South Wales Echo: "I'm not playing at 100%. To tell you the truth I need an operation on my hip. I've been told that it will keep me out of the game for at least 10 to 12 weeks.
"The gaffer Dave Jones wants me to play through the injury, but I need an operation as soon as possible. It badly restricts my movement on certain things and it aggravates certain parts of my body.
"Nobody is going to see the best of me until that operation is done and sorted out properly. I'm not using it as an excuse for my form, it's a fact."
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