MICHAEL Appleton hopes Oxford United’s have had their share of serious injuries for the whole season after a second big blow in a week.

Wes Thomas has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign after rupturing an Achilles tendon during Saturday’s 4-1 win against Coventry City.

The striker is due to undergo surgery tomorrow.

It comes just days after the news Liam Sercombe would be sidelined for at least three months with a knee problem.

Appleton, who has also been unable to select Christian Ribeiro due to a fractured ankle sustained in August, rued the side’s bad luck.

He said: “We’ve been a bit unfortunate this year with injuries.

“I’ve never tried to use them as an excuse and always try to stay away from that, but we’ve had some big injuries to big players.

“Let’s hope that’s our bit out of the way and we go through the rest of the season unscathed.”

Joe Skarz was also taken to hospital on Saturday, but reported for training yesterday.

It is thought the mild concussion will keep the left back out for only a week.