Oxford United's George Thorne is set to miss the rest of his loan spell at The Kassam Stadium after surgery on a dislocated shoulder.

After dislocating his shoulder, Thorne had an MRI scan which shows ligament damage and requires an operation to correct, reports the Oxford Mail.

Having joined Oxford United on loan in the summer until January, Thorne is now expected to take three to four months to recover therefore his loan spell expiring as he recovers following surgery.

Thorne has unfortunately had an injury-hit spell since joining on loan, suffering a calf injury in pre-season which kept him on the sidelines for the past two months but fought his way back into contention upon recovering from injury and started last week's Carabao Cup game against West Ham United but suffered the dislocation just 19 minutes into the game.

The 26-year-old midfielder has had an injury-hit few years while on the books of Derby County and having loan spells with Luton Town and Oxford, playing just the 27 games since the start of the 2016-2017 season.

His dislocated shoulder is just the latest in a long line of injuries for the former West Bromwich Albion prospect who was once tipped for a future with England, but is now set for a spell on the sidelines.

The Verdict:

While Thorne is most definitely a taltented footballer on the pitch, his injury struggles off it have seemed to have taken hold and he is set for another extended period on the sidelines. Despite Oxford standing by the midfielder and helping with his treatment, Thorne looks unlikely to have a future at the League One side.