NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn says the club will “do the right thing” by injured captain Joss Labadie with talks over a new contract ongoing.

Labadie is set to have surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament on Monday and is unlikely to play again before the end of the year.

The skipper is out of contract this summer but Flynn revealed that he will undergo his rehabilitation with the club and the offer of a new deal is still on the table.

“Joss has spoken to the surgeon and he’ll be having an operation on Monday,” said the Exiles boss.

“He’ll have a time scale of anything between six and 12 months, hopefully closer to eight or nine.

“He’ll miss seven weeks of this season and then he’ll miss eight weeks in the off-season and a month of pre-season so those months start getting ticked off.

“He’ll be in all over the summer working hard and I’m sure his fitness will be up to scratch throughout the rehab.

“If he can get a few games in then he’ll pick his fitness up well.”

Labadie can take inspiration from teammate Josh Sheehan, who returned from a similar knee injury in January and has now scored in successive games – the win at Yeovil Town and last week’s 1-1 home draw with Luton Town.

“Josh has come back stronger, he’s improved on areas he needed to improve on and there’s no reason why Joss can’t do the same,” added the manager.

“It’s frustrating because we all have a lot of respect for Joss and he’s the boys’ captain.

“He’s got to be optimistic, he’s a good professional and he’ll work hard and try to get back as quickly as he can – without risking breaking down. The physio will look after him.”

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And Flynn is optimistic that County fans will get to see Labadie in an amber shirt again.

“We’ll be speaking to him and his agent but obviously the club will do the right thing,” he said.

“We’ll never see a player – somebody who we value so highly – walk away, or limp away in this circumstance.

“That’s morally right – we’ve got to make sure he’s looked after and we give him a chance to get his career back on track.

“We’ll sit down and as soon as something is agreed we’ll let everybody know.”

Flynn was speaking at the Newport County AFC Race Day at Chepstow Racecourse yesterday afternoon.

“It’s been a good experience,” he said. “It keeps up the relationship with Chepstow Racecourse, which is going really well.

“They support us at our games and it’s only right that we return the favour.

“We trained this morning before coming down here and the boys have looked really sharp all week.

“We’re looking forward to taking on Crewe on Saturday and hopefully getting back to winning ways.”

Meanwhile, County youngsters Jay Foulston and Lewis Collins are set to represent Wales again today as the under-19s take on Croatia for the second time in 48 hours.

Both Exiles academy stars were in the starting XI in Vrbovec on Tuesday afternoon as the hosts ran out 3-0 winners.

Leon Krekovic opened the scoring for Croatia after 36 minutes before further goals from Roko Baturina and Jurica Prsir extended their lead in the second half.

Collins, the 16-year-old younger brother of County loan star Aaron, earned a late call-up earlier this week to join 17-year-old Foulston in the squad.

The two sides meet again in a second friendly in Mladina at 2.30pm this afternoon.

Collins told the club website: "I am very pleased to have the chance to represent my country in these friendlies, it is great to be involved once again. I hope I can show what I can do and make my family proud."