Midfielder Cedric van der Gun has told the Swansea City faithful to forget writing off fellow Dutchman Ferrie Bodde.

Bodde is set to go under the surgeon's scalpel for a second cruciate knee operation in Holland next week after his second comeback ended in tears last month.

The Dutch dynamo lasted just 32 minutes in his comeback against Peterborough three weeks ago after his knee broke down again.

"I'm devastated,'' admitted Bodde at the time. "It's nobody's fault, just one of those things.

"I've worked really hard over the last few months on my rehab, training seven hours a day, six days a week, and felt really good during the game.

"All I can remember is jumping for a ball and turning on my left leg when I landed. I knew something was wrong straight away.''

But while the operation is expected to rule him out until at least the start of next season, van der Gun believes Bodde still has a bright future ahead of him at the Liberty Stadium.

"I've heard some people writing Ferrie off,'' explained van der Gun. "But don't believe it.

"Exactly the same thing happened to me, but I'm still playing and feeling stronger than ever.

"Yes, it was the worst thing that could have happened to him. Believe me, I've been there, and it's a long and lonely road back.

"It's a difficult injury to come back from, but there's nothing he can do about it now other than to work hard again on his recovery and return even stronger.

"Ferrie is a good player; you could see that in the 30 minutes he played against Peterborough. He's at that top level as a player.

"But once he recovers he'll be fine; I'm sure of that.''

It's a view shared by Swans chairman Huw Jenkins, who added: "In this day and age, there are a lot of players coming back from this type of injury.

"We have examples in our own squad in Marcos Painter, Garry Monk and Cedric van der Gun. They have all made full recoveries and there's nothing to say that Ferrie cannot do the same.

"Obviously we are all disappointed. It means another spell out for him and a lot of time lost, which is a frustration for everyone.

"We went along with the surgeon in Holland's opinion and everybody was comfortable with that. It puts us another six months down the line, but we have to be positive and get on
with things.''

Like Bodde, van der Gun was forced to have a cruciate knee operation only for it to break down again further down the line.

As was the case with Bodde, he was advised not to have a second operation and make his comeback after six months of rehabilitation strengthening the knee in the weights
room.

And, bizarrely, just like his fellow Dutchman, the cruciate gave way again. But after eventually undergoing his second knee operation, van der Gun came back strong enough to earn himself a contract at the Liberty Stadium last summer.

And while he was forced to sit out the first two months of the New Year with a hamstring injury, the 30-year-old looked back to his best as a second-half substitute at Nottingham Forest.

"It took me six weeks to get over the hamstring injury and a further two weeks to play again,'' he added.

"It felt good to play and I thought the 45 minutes went well at Forest. Unfortunately, we lost a game I felt we should have won.''

In fact, it was van der Gun's pass that split the Forest defence and sent Darren Pratley racing in on goal. And, like the 25,000-plus in the City Ground, he couldn't believe it when the referee failed to point to the penalty spot when Pratley was clearly clipped from behind by Chris Cohen.

"It was a clear penalty. I still can't imagine how the referee or linesman couldn't see it. It was the same with the corner that led to their goal; it was offside.

"They say the decisions even themselves out over the course of the season. Well if that's the case, we are due a lot of luck between now and then.''

And having played for the likes of Ajax, Den Haag, Utrecht and Borussia Dortmund, his experience could prove vital come the shake up at the end of the campaign.

After all, he was once been regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in Holland when he signed for Ajax in 2000 from Den Bosch; following in the footsteps of greats like Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp.

Coming through the ranks alongside him during his time were the likes of Real Madrid duo Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Schneider and Manchester City's £16m recruit Nigel de Jong.

"If I can do my bit to help Swansea reach the play-offs I'll be delighted,'' he added.

"Every game is going to be difficult between now and the end of the season because there are a lot of good teams in this league.

"But we feel confident about finishing the job.''

And, who knows, there could be a few more Dutchmen plying their trade in the Premier League next season.