Darren Grieves will become Harrow Borough's biggest cheerleader over the winter when he undergoes surgery next week.
The burly striker is set to go under the knife to help remedy the bowel disease which has affected him for years. He had an operation five years ago to remove his large bowel and has had to wear a colostomy bag, which is shielded when he plays for David Howell's battlers.
However, the latest operation will mean the 31-year-old will be out for around four months and he hopes to sign off by helping Borough to a morale-boosting victory over Chatham Town in the FA Trophy this Saturday.
"It's like Crohn's Disease for the stomach," said Grieves of his condition. "I have gotten use to wearing the bag, as you can't allow it to affect you.
"I like to play a decent standard of football and my surgeon told me of a few rugby players that played with one.I've only ever had it bashed in a game once,and that was really painful."
Grieves is targeting a January return, depending on how he 'heals up', and will return hoping Harrow have made a steady climb up the table after a shoddy start to the season, which has yielded just one win from 11 games.
"We did okay in pre-season but we made a few silly mistakes at the start of the campaign," added the target man. "But, in all honesty,I don't think we've played that badly.
"Hopefully we will beat Chatham on Saturday, as they are from a lower league than us, but they will be no pushovers.A win would really help the team spirit."
