U's winger Mark Yeates is to miss the rest of the season after surgery on his shoulder following a dislocation nearly  three weeks ago.

It was hoped that the former Tottenham player would be able to avoid surgery and play some part in the U's run in but physio Tony Flynn explained why it wasn't possible.

He told CU-FC.com: "There was a hope that Mark wouldn't need the operation, but there was too much uncertainty about the possibility of it popping out again so we felt surgery was the best course of action.

"Having spoken to the surgeon after the operation, this decision proved to be correct with the damage he found and repaired."

Tony went on to explain what the problem was and how it was repaired in theatre on Thursday evening.

"The anchors that had been put in when he suffered the dislocation before had been ripped out, almost certainly in the incident against Sheffield United, and have been secured as deep and tight as physically possible this time."

Tony has been told that any training during Mark's rehabilitation must not include physical contact for a few months but early indications suggest that he will be fit for the start of pre-season training in July.