CITY boss Paul Lambert confirmed this morning that captain and leading goalscorer Grant Holt will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his ankle.

The 29-year-old striker had keyhole surgery on Wednesday, which will mean he will miss City's remaining games of the campaign against Bristol Rovers and Carlisle United.

Lambert said: "His ankle has been cleaned up and It went fine and we've done this now so he's ready for pre-season training."

He added that the injury had caused the Carlisle-born player some problems during the season: "There were times in training when he hurt himself and you think oh . . . but he just battled on and got on with it. We knew we had to get him through games. He did it and he's been brilliant for us."

But the surgery will not prevent City's captain lifting that League One trophy aloft on the last day of the season: "He'll be there with the rest of the group," confirmed Lambert.