BURY midfielder Brian Barry-Murphy may need plastic surgery to remedy the freak injury he picked up at Chester on Easter Monday.

The Shakers' ace was involved in a horrific head clash with City's Michael Branch early in the second half at the Deva Stadium, which resulted in him losing a chunk of his left ear.

The gutsy Irishman played on after treatment but after the game, when the full extent of the injury was realised, a search of the pitch was made for the missing piece.

Unfortunately for the 26-year-old, it wasn't found, and this week he visited a specialist before returning to training on Thursday.

"It's a bit of a mess and he looks like he's been in the ring with Mike Tyson," said manager Graham Barrow.

"He has been prescribed some cream for the injury and it's a case of waiting to see how it goes on in the next two weeks.

"There are cosmetic considerations to be made and he could well need plastic surgery on it at the end of the day."

Bravely, Barry-Murphy has said he is still keen to play in Saturday's derby clash against Rochdale at Gigg Lane.

It is thought Branch's tooth may have accidentally caught Barry-Murphy in the challenge which saw the Chester player himself laid out unconscious for several minutes.