CIARON Brown has been ruled out for the rest of Oxford United’s season with the knee ligament injury he suffered last week.
The 27-year-old came off a 50/50 challenge limping just 12 minutes into United’s 3-1 defeat at home against Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night.
Brown subsequently missed out on the matchday squad for the 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday, as did Dutch right back Hidde ter Avest, who was forced off following a clash of heads against QPR.
U’s head coach Gary Rowett is hopeful that ter Avest might be able to feature at home against Leeds United on Good Friday, however Brown will play no further part this season.
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Rowett said: “We’re hoping Hidde might be available for the next game. There’s a slight concussion, so we’re testing, and as a precaution, we didn’t play him.
“We’re hoping there’s an outside chance he’ll be available for Leeds. We’ve got to make sure the player’s okay, that’s the most important bit.
“Browny is the worst news, he’ll be out for the season, which is a big blow for us. We just seem to have got injuries in key moments of the season.
“Maybe it’s one of those seasons where we’ve just got to do it the hard way, and we’ve got to make sure we show that character.
“It’s certainly a big blow for us with Browny. We’ll get behind him and rally round him, and hopefully he’ll be back ready and fit for next season.”
Asked about a timeframe for Brown’s injury, Rowett responded: “It’s too early to tell. It’s very doubtful he’s going to play any further part this season, which of course doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out for a long time.
“The best bit about is we’re not talking about a nine-month ligament injury, which I’ll be honest, when I first saw it, it was my first concern.
“It doesn’t sound like the right thing to say, but it’s good news in some ways.”
The absence through injury of Joe Bennett and Greg Leigh in recent weeks has seen Brown cover the left back position, but with both Bennett and Leigh now fit and available again, Rowett has options to come into the side in place of Brown.
Rowett said: “Benno is a hugely experienced player. He’s played a lot of games for this club, and played at this level for a long time.
“Greg was probably one of our better players early on when I came in, so it’s nice to have those options back.”
