Gateshead's Olley out for season after broken leg op

Greg Olley (left) captained Gateshead to victory over Solihull in the FA Trophy final at Wembley in May

Gateshead captain Greg Olley has undergone a successful operation on the broken leg he suffered in Saturday's National League game at Woking.

In a statement, Gateshead said that Olley faces a "lengthy period of rehabilitation" and will miss the rest of the season.

Olley was badly injured in a 13th-minute foul by Woking's Dion Kelly-Evans, who was sent off for the challenge.

The 28-year-old midfielder received lengthy treatment on the pitch and was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

The two teams returned to the dressing rooms for a period before coming back out to play the rest of the match, which the Heed won 2-0.

Gateshead's statement added Olley had "come through a lengthy operation to repair a broken fibula, stabilise the tibia and fibula and a full repair of an ankle syndesmosis" on Sunday.

The player posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday to say he had "no hard feelings" towards Kelly-Evans.

Olley spent time in Newcastle United's academy and made two League Cup appearances for Hull City before joining Gateshead in 2018.

He was part of the team that won promotion back to the National League in 2021-22 and skippered them to victory in last season's FA Trophy.

Gateshead boss Rob Elliott said after the game that Olley had wanted the team to finish Saturday's match.

"Greggy wanted us to play the game and carry on," he said.

"It was more the lads that dictated it, I was quite distressed and I wanted to call it off."