The Socceroo stopper will have an operation this Wednesday morning and is expected to be out for about four weeks.

“Now seems like a good time,” the 31-year-old told au.fourfourtwo.com today. “Viddy [coach Aurelio Vidmar] asked me to play on over the last few weeks.

"It was important to play, especially with that big game against Sydney last weekend.

“The surgeon felt I could've gone on for another week but it was thought this was the best time to have it done.”

The club expects the defender to be fully fit for the demands of 2008 – an expected finals campaign followed by the club's second foray into Asia's Champions League.

“He’s been playing for the last three weeks with a torn meniscus and he’s done remarkably well for us to continue in those three weeks with a fair bit of pain,” Vidmar said.

“I think we squeezed a good game out of him against Sydney, and if I tried to squeeze another one out of him this week I don’t think it would be a smart idea in terms of Angelo’s well being and health.”

The centre of the Reds' defence has been a poisoned chalice this season with fellow stopper Mike Valkanis out for the year through injury.