Report: Thomas Vermaelen to undergo surgery, be out 'about 5 months'

It appears as though Thomas Vermaelen will indeed go under the knife to deal with the hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since the World Cup.

Vermaelen, who has yet to feature for Barcelona since he joined the club for £15 million this summer, has agreed to undergo surgery this weekend that is expected to require about five months of recovery, according to Marca. 

The procedure will be performed by tendon whizz Sakari Orava, a renowned surgeon for many athletes, who will attempt to cure Vermaelen's nagging hamstring injury once and for all.

Assuming the five-month recovery timeline is accurate, Vermaelen will be sidelined until the end of April, meaning it's entirely possible that the Belgian centre-back doesn't feature for Barcelona this season.