He tells The Aquarian: "After this run we're going to have some time off. I've got to have an operation on my hand. It's sort of a major thing I need to get done and I've been putting it off.

"The cartilage has gone from the thumb in my fingering hand. It's been like that for a year, to be honest. I've been taking anti-inflammatories and all sorts of stuff to try and calm it down. But it's inevitable I have to have the operation - the bone is rubbing on the bone." - more on this story

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