Town have confirmed that midfielder Andre Dozzell has torn his cruciate knee ligament as had been feared and will face nine months on the sidelines.

The 18-year-old suffered the injury shortly before half-time during Saturday’s 1-0 home victory over Birmingham City, collapsing to the turf in evident pain as he battled for a bouncing ball with visitors’ striker Che Adams following a corner.

Dozzell is expected to undergo surgery next week and will be out for the rest of the season.

“I saw Dozzer yesterday and he was very down. He is bound to be,” Town boss Mick McCarthy told the club site.

“It’s the season out for him and it’s very disappointing, for us but especially for Dozzer. He will get looked after well by our medical staff and we wish him as quick a recovery as possible.”

Speaking earlier this afternoon, ahead of Dozzell undergoing a scan which revealed the extent of his injury, McCarthy said there was little he could say to cheer him up when he saw him yesterday.

"I said, ‘You’re 18, if it is 12 months, and let’s hope it’s not, but if is you’ll be 19, you play until 35, so you’ve 16 more years to play.

“But it doesn’t feel like that when you're 18, does it? It’s only when you’re an old man like me and you’ve got a bit of perspective on life that you realise there’s a lot in front of you.

“But he’ll get the best treatment, he’ll get well looked after and whatever it is he’ll be back as quick as he possibly can.”

🙏🏼 tunnel vision , i will only come back stronger & hungrier than ever https://t.co/mWAqXp0zfL– AD23 (@andredozzell) August 7, 2017

He added: “There’s a kick in the backside waiting for somebody in football, it appears every single day around every corner.

“You couldn’t envisage that happening having had such a great summer, winning the Euros with the England U19s and then coming back and you could instantly see it had given him something.

“The way he trained and I think the fact that Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam were in and around the team had an effect as well and I loved it, he just rose to that challenge. So, really sad because he did play well on Saturday.”

Photo: TWTD

GerkensBeard added 08:06 - Aug 8 Gutted for Andre, I myself done my cruciate when I was 16 and know what a struggle the 9 months will be. But I expect him to come back stronger than ever. Cruciate ligament injuries mainly affect the players that rely on pace such as players in the past like Michael Owen. When as those who have that class and don't rely on their pace will see them play at the level they did before the injury. He's going to have the best treatment and rehab available and all the support with him

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pegasus added 08:09 - Aug 8 Sad news. Bad news. Wish Andre a safe and successful operation, a good period of convalescence and a steady return to full fitness. Good to see the support that Andre is receiving from everyone associated with ITFC and twtd.
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BlueandTruesince82 added 08:16 - Aug 8 Massive shame. Thankfully the club will look after him
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worker added 08:50 - Aug 8 BEST REPLY SO FAR SO I'LL REPEAT IT!! CavendishBlue added 22:51 - Aug 7 Can't put into words how I really feel about this Andre. Grew up watching your dad and was so looking forward to seeing you progress after the last year or so. May you have patience when needed and come back as chunky as your dad was with all the weights training. It was a n honour to see you play so silkily and beautifully on Saturday. Lets hope Flynn and Tristan step up to the plate in your absence and make you fight for your place back in the team next season. Onwards and upwards big man.DOZZZZEEEELLLL!!!!!

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patthegimp added 08:53 - Aug 8 Really sorry for AD. Keep your chin up. You will be back better than ever. Seems to be becoming a common injury in pre-season or first few matches-mings, liam boyce , AD
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Kirbmeister added 09:05 - Aug 8 Is it a partial tear or a rupture? Hopefully the former as this will lessen his recovery time a lot. A ruptured cruciate can take 18 months to recover from. Best wishes.
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Robert_Garrett added 09:34 - Aug 8 Look forward to seeing you in the new season Andre. Get well soon. We see great things from you.
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warktheline added 09:43 - Aug 8 Ruddy heartbreaking that! Speedy recovery one hopes!
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renoble added 09:43 - Aug 8 When I was a boy my old man used to say to me 'just sit and watch Wark for five minutes'. I understood why. For the first time since I have taken my kids to the town I gave them the same instruction to watch Dozzell. I thought he was more than outstanding. Very clever player who was the center of everything good. Massive shame for him and us.
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eMeM added 10:01 - Aug 8 Hyam, Bishop and now Dozzell. Two of them still didn't manage to come back to their best form.
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Dyland added 11:23 - Aug 8 Really gutted for Andre. A kick in the teeth for him and terribly disappointing for us supporters who have seen him coming through. A couple of moments of vision on Saturday literally had me catching my breath. He's the real deal and the main thing is he gets better and doesn't rush it. Chin up Andre, and good luck with your recovery.
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Pendejo added 12:00 - Aug 8 hoping for a full recovery
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BlueandTruesince82 added 12:40 - Aug 8 I reckon next home games needs some Andre chants, might help the recovery....
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Kropotkin123 added 16:44 - Aug 8 Such a shame. I was really keen to see him push on this year. Hope he has a speedy and full recovery.
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jas0999 added 17:26 - Aug 8 Bitterly disappointing news. Bad news for us and more importantly he club. Young attack minded player. This is the type of circumstance where a loan may be warranted.
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adepowers added 21:50 - Aug 8 Gutted for the lad, gutted for Town. Wishing him a speedy and safe recovery and look forward to seeing him up and running next season
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rfretwell added 09:20 - Aug 9 Great post ParisBlue. Fantastic defence splitting passes by Andre as sub home to Bristol City. He really livened up the match. Speedy recovery Andre, your club and country need you.
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