MARK Davies’s season could be over after Wanderers confirmed he will be out of action for four months with a knee injury.

The mercurial midfielder will undergo microfracture surgery to cure a cartilage problem that flared up at the start of the week.

Wanderers had been hoping the unlucky 26-year-old would avoid another lengthy spell on the sidelines but were dealt the bad news by specialists on Thursday night.

It also proved to be a double whammy, with Neil Lennon revealing yesterday Marc Tierney, the left-back who has played just nine games in 18 months since signing on a free transfer from Norwich City, has undergone another operation which rules him out “long term.”

The Wanderers boss is hopeful Davies can still play again this season, although he admits the former Wolves man will be hard to replace.

“We have decent cover but Mark gives us something different,” he said. “There is no doubt he has made us better since he came into the team.

“It’s a problem because he’s going to miss four months of the season but it’s not going to end his career, or his career with Bolton. We are going to get him back.

“It’s a huge blow because he was looking good, he was working hard on his game and his fitness levels – he was cruising.”

Davies’s injury has come as a surprise to Wanderers, who were confident he had finally beaten his injury jinx.

The midfielder has featured 11 times this season, having made just 18 appearances last term because of lay-offs with his shoulder and knee.

“We don’t know the rhyme or reason for it, he came in and looked brilliant in training on Monday,” Lennon explained.

“On Tuesday his knee had swollen a little bit but the next day he felt he could carry on.

“We took him for a precautionary scan and then for a second opinion but the result was the same, he needs surgery.

“It’s a big blow for the player first and foremost and we don’t understand why this complication has occurred.

“It wasn’t an impact injury or that he twisted, it seems to be an underlying problem.”

The news is equally bleak for Tierney, who has endured a nightmare since breaking his leg against Yeovil in September 2013.

It was hoped after screws were removed in a pre-planned operation in the summer that he would be able to continue his Wanderers career in the New Year.

But the Prestwich-born defender has suffered another setback which means he is unlikely to feature in the Championship this season.

Lennon heads to Blackpool this afternoon to square off against Lee Clark for the second time this season.

His first game in charge at Wanderers – a 1-0 win at Birmingham – saw his opposite number sacked at St Andrew’s.

It was a similar story for Uwe Rosler who lost his job at Wigan following a defeat to the Whites.

“Put it this way, I hope that is the last time it happens,” said Lennon, getting no pleasure from that particular statistic.

“I’m just hoping we pick up where we left off. Whether we can get back to where we were before the international break, I’m not sure.

“Blackpool will be re-invigorated by Lee. He is a good manager and I am surprised he got removed at Birmingham. But I am delighted he has got back in so soon.

“He will probably be sick of the sight of us. I am pleased for him. For someone so young he has vast experience of management and I think it is a good appointment. He knows the division really well and knows the market really well.”