Coleraine's Cooper to have surgery on both knees

Coleraine forward Joel Cooper has confirmed he is set to undergo surgery on both knees after playing through the pain barrier culminated in a starring role in the club's Irish Cup triumph.

Cooper, 30, scored and was named man of the match as Coleraine beat Dungannon Swifts 3-2 in Saturday's Windsor Park showpiece.

The former Northern Ireland Under-21 international ended his first season with the Bannsiders with 26 goals.

"I go to London tomorrow [Tuesday] for surgery on both knees. I've been struggling all season, probably since October," he told Good Morning Ulster.

"The medical team at Coleraine have been brilliant with me and I've been monitored very closely, there's the odd game I haven't been able to make it but the majority of the time I've been on the pitch, I maybe haven't been 100% but I'm not one who can sit back and watch, I like to be involved."

Cooper, who hopes to recover in time for the start of Coleraine's European campaign in July, joined an exclusive club on Saturday as an Irish Cup winner with three different clubs.

He previously won the competition with Glenavon in 2016 and Linfield in 2021.

"They're all different. The first one at Glenavon was special because of my grandad, a big Glenavon supporter, so that one was very special," he added.

"When we won at Linfield it was strange because it was during Covid, it wasn't at Windsor, it was at Mourneview [Park]. There weren't as many supporters there so it was different.

"Then last Saturday, after all the talk of the transfer window last year, this one is special as well because people will understand why I wanted the move. The support on Saturday was immense."

When asked if the cup win gave him vindication following his much-talked about move from Linfield last summer, Cooper said: "I don't know if I needed any vindication but it's nice to have a trophy at the end of it because all the talk was I wasn't going for trophies or football terms.

"But when I spoke to the owner [Henry Ross] or the manager [Ruaidhri Higgins] when he came in, the ambition they had said it all for me. They don't want to be just another team, they want to go and be successful.

"I knew what I was doing and I'm glad it's worked out that way."