Gutted Bulls ace Andy Lynch has had neck surgery which will see him miss the start of next season.

The shock news is a sizeable blow for Bradford.

Reigning player of the year Lynch is by far their most consistent performer in recent times and a huge presence for Steve McNamara’s side.

He had the operation after a host of treatments failed to cure a serious problem stemming from the back end of last season.

Lynch – who has been troubled by pain in his neck, shoulder and later in his hand – is out for three months and likely to be sidelined against Harlequins, Hull KR, Huddersfield and Wigan.

He withdrew from England’s World Cup plans in September to try and concentrate on sorting his fitness and returned from holiday in Australia for training on November 5.

However, the pivotal 29-year-old has been struggling throughout, hasn’t trained fully and saw a specialist last week who delivered the crushing verdict.

“It’s a disc injury in his neck,” McNamara explained.

“It’s got worse and worse and is one of those that has gradually come on.

“We had him checked out at the end of last season and the advice we received was Andy could be fine just with rest.

“He was okay then but when he got to Australia he developed new symptoms, this time in his hand.

“When he came back we had him seen again and he had an injection as another option of treating the problem; the last thing we wanted was to put him through an operation on an area like the neck if we could avoid that. Unfortunately, we had to.

"It’s a shame but we certainly need to explore it and Andy will miss three months, effectively the first month of the season.”

On the positive side, an earlier injection in his shoulder has cured that problem and the home clash with Hull FC on March 15 is a potential return date for a player rarely absent during the last two campaigns.

The club will miss his massive work-rate, with experienced Lynch giving Bradford so much of their go-forward.

He was their top carrier and metre-maker last year with stats among the best in Super League.

McNamara admitted: “It’s a real disappointment to lose Andy, both for himself and for us.

“Since he’s come back from his broken leg (in 2006) and the adversity he had earlier when he missed the 2005 Grand Final, he has just been outstanding.

“The only blessing is I’d rather him miss the first month of the season than the last. It’s still not an ideal situation for any of us but there’ll be many obstacles along the way next season and you have to get on with it.

"The challenge now is for the rest of the players to make sure they pick up and cover the work Andy does for us.”

Positive news on the progress of fellow props Nick Scruton and Sam Burgess earlier this week means the Bulls should still be well served.

However, with Lynch out, Joe Vagana retired and Wales front-rower Matt James heading on loan to Halifax, Craig Kopczak is certain to have a major role and there may even be an early call for England Academy prop Steve Crossley.