91Èȱ¬

Oxford United goalkeeper Ryan Clarke will see a specialist on Wednesday to ascertain if he needs surgery on one or both of his shoulders.

The 30-year-old has been struggling with injuries to both and has already been told he requires an operation.

But Clarke is hopeful the doctors can still save his season.

"Best case scenario is eight to 10 weeks, but I'll find out more once I've seen the specialist and had the operation," he told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Oxford.

"It's gutting for myself because things have been going great for the team and for me."

Clarke revealed he has played with the injury for a while but his performance and the pain he was under during the Johnstone's Paint Trophy penalty shoot-out defeat by Southend convinced him to have it done.

"It got to a point where I had to get it sorted because it's been going on for a while," added Clarke.

"I always said the moment it started affecting the team I would make a decision to have it done. There were a couple of goals against Southend that if I was fully fit I would saved them."