Willy Topp has flown home to Chile, insisting that he will come back fully fit for City next season.
Topp is recovering following his recent bi-lateral calf surgery. The backs of both legs were operated on to repair a muscle-tightening condition, diagnosed as posterior compartment syndrome, which was causing him to cramp up during games.
Topp has flown back to South America to spend time with his family but will be following a strict fitness programme to make sure he is in top shape to return in time for pre-season.
The striker said: "It is feeling better now. I can walk and maybe this week I will be able to run a bit again and then let's see.
"This operation has opened up the muscles and hopefully there will be no more tightness when I'm playing games. It will help me a lot.
"There is a lot more running in England and sometimes the pitches are difficult, which has been the problem."
Topp has featured in 11 games since his protracted £35,000 move from Universidad Catolica, starting six of them, but he is yet to play a full 90 minutes and is still looking for his first goal.
City took the decision to send him under the knife when the play-offs were out of reach, although he came off the bench for the closing stages of the recent home draw with Barnet.
Meanwhile, Stuart McCall, joint-chairman Mark Lawn and head of operations David Baldwin will be the special guests at a fans' forum at Valley Parade tonight. It starts at 7pm in the McCall Suite.
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