By Graeme Dey

DUNDEE UNITED starlet Keith Watson will next month undergo surgery to repair his dislocated kneecap.

The length of lay-off he will face beyond that however is unclear.

“Keith will spend the next month letting the injury settle down and building up the muscles around the knee before getting an op,’’ said United boss Craig Levein, who joined Watson in visiting a specialist yesterday.

“We’re told there’s a couple of things they can do surgery-wise and we’ll be taking further advice as to which would be the best option to take.

“It’s impossible to say how long he’ll be out for as each operation has a different recovery time, but there’s no doubt that he needs surgery, as we’ve been told without it there’s every chance the problem could arise again.”

Watson has dislocated his kneecap twice in the space of 11 months. This latest incident happened during the warm-up to what would have been his first SPL start, against Celtic on March 31.