Ayew prepared to play with pain to avoid operation

MARSEILLE, France —Marseille winger Andre Ayew is prepared to postpone a shoulder operation until the end of the season to help his club challenge on three fronts.

Marseille is still involved in the Champions League and is chasing a top-three finish in the French league to secure a European place next season. Marseille also plays Lyon in the League Cup final in April.

The Ghana international says the pain in his left shoulder is becoming too much but feels he must keep playing.

“I’ve dislocated my shoulder several times. It’s no longer staying in place properly. If I have an operation now, my season is over,” Ayew said Tuesday on Marseille’s website. “That won’t be beneficial either for me or for the club.”

The 22-year-old Ayew was carrying the injury when he played for Ghana at the recent African Cup of Nations. He has been one of Marseille’s key players this season, scoring 11 goals in all competitions, and two at the African Cup.

“I will have to grit my teeth, as I have been doing for a while now,” Ayew said. “When it no longer holds, I will have to go under (the surgeon’s knife). But if I can hold out until the end of the season, (I will).”

He scored Marseille’s injury-time goal when it beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 matchup last week. Ayew also scored a hat trick in the Champions Trophy when Marseille beat Lille 5-4 in the traditional curtain raiser to the season.

Marseille hosts Toulouse in the French league on Sunday.