Lowestoft Town skipper Rossi Jarvis has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

The former Norwich City midfielder will miss the last five games of the Trawlerboys' Ryman League Premier campaign after undergoing surgery on his groin.

Jarvis has been trying to manage the injury for the majority of this season but with Lowestoft all but out of the race for the play-offs the decision has been made for the 28-year-old to go under the knife.

Manager Ady Gallagher hopes the midfielder can get the problem sorted once and for all and get him back involved for pre-season training in the summer.

'Rossi will be out for the rest of the season now,' admitted Gallagher. 'We have been trying to get him through and gave him a month off to see if that would help but as soon as he came back the problem flared up again.

'It's been an issue for him for some time and it's time that we got it sorted.'

Lowestoft's 1-0 defeat to Merstham ended the Blues' seven-match unbeaten run last weekend and it doesn't get any easier for Gallagher's men with a trip to promotion chasing Dulwich Hamlet.

'I was disappointed because I felt we deserved to get something out the game (against Merstham),' added Gallagher. 'We controlled possession for much of the game but we have got to learn to be more clinical when chances come along.

'After such a good run it was disappointing to see it come to an end like that.

'Dulwich will be another tough test for us as they are in the hunt for a play-off spot.

'They've had to play a lot of games in a short space of time but sometimes that can help as it means you can get a bit of momentum. We're expecting a really tough game.'