CHERRIES star Harry Arter is facing an important period in his painstaking bid to recover from a persistent groin injury.

Midfielder Arter has been sidelined since initially feeling discomfort in his left groin while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland in June.

The 25-year-old missed the whole of Cherries’ pre-season campaign and has also been ruled out of their first three Premier League games.

In an attempt to rectify the problem, Arter was referred to a leading groin specialist in Germany and flew to Munich for a consultation on Thursday.

And he went under the knife to have a minor operation yesterday and is due to return to England today before starting his rehabilitation early next week.

Arter will build up his fitness under the watchful eye of Cherries physio Steve Hard and, providing he suffers no adverse reaction, could return to full training some time during the international break.

He will withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad for their Group D qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia next month.

Arter enjoyed an injury-free campaign as Cherries won promotion to the Premier League and was named supporters’ player of the year.