END OF THE ROAD FOR TAXIGATE ACE

GARETH BARRY looks to have played his last game for West Brom.

The former England midfielder (above), the Premier League’s record appearance holder, has a release clause in his contract at The Hawthorns should the Baggies go down.

It is likely he will activate that clause if, as expected, the West Midlands club fail to beat the drop.

Tomorrow’s knee surgery will keep him out for up to eight weeks, ruling him out of his side’s last five games.

He has not played since the 2-1 defeat by Huddersfield in February.

The 37-year-old former Aston Villa and Manchester City star, who joined West Brom from Everton last summer, is going under the knife to have damaged cartilage trimmed from around a knee.

He had a couple of steroid injections to keep playing earlier this season.

But the knee kept ballooning up and the decision has been taken for him to have the operation now so he can get in a full pre-season ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

Whether that will be at West Brom remains to be seen but the experienced midfielder, who had been a candidate for player of the season before the Taxigate episode in Barcelona, is sure to have offers to extend his time in the Premier League.

He has the option of a further year at The Hawthorns after triggering an extension clause earlier this year. But his contract also has another clause permitting him to leave the club in the event of relegation.

Barry, along with Jonny Evans (left), Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill, was caught up in the incident on a warmweather training camp in Barcelona in which a cab was allegedly stolen from a Mcdonald’s drive-thru.

He further upset Albion fans by being pictured in a Birmingham nightclub the Friday before last, 24 hours before the 2-1 defeat by Burnley, even though he wasn’t part of the squad.