of a knee injury.

Goater was yesterday flown back to England from Manchester City's pre-season tour of Northern Ireland for exploratory surgery.

The 30-year-old Bermudian striker aggravated a cartilage problem when he made a tackle during City's 4-0 win against Linfield on Saturday, having earlier scored his team's first goal.

City's first game back in the Premier League will be at Charlton on August 19 and the club's top goalscorer last season will be struggling to be fit in time.

So Goater, who has spent the last 12 years working his way up through England's lower divisions since leaving Bermuda as an 18-year-old, may have to wait a little longer for his top-flight debut.

Goater had been struggling with a knee problem for a number of weeks before the tour, but club medical staff had hoped he could run off the injury.

Goater told reporters: "The injury couldn't have come at a worse time.

"I had a scan before we came to Ireland because I had been experiencing some pain in my knee.

"The scan revealed a slight tear in my cartilage but the doctors thought I should go on tour anyway and see if the cartilage held up during a match. But obviously it hasn't.

"Because of the time scale, it will be very difficult for me to be ready for the start of the season. I will have to wait for the knee to recover from the operation and then I will be back at square one in a fitness sense, because I will have missed all the pre-season matches.'' One of those friendlies is a prestigious clash with City's local rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 16, a benefit match for United defender Dennis Irwin.

City manager Joe Royle was hopeful that the striker would not be sidelined for too long.

"Shaun will have his knee opened up so that surgeons can ascertain the extent of the damage,'' said Royle.

"Hopefully it will be nothing more than a cartilage injury and he will be back in training in a matter of weeks rather than months.''