Callum Ainley needs surgery on a shoulder injury which will keep him out of action for about three months.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder suffered the dislocation just after the hour-mark of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Mansfield.

Now scans have revealed that Ainley has sustained bone and ligament damage which must be corrected by an operation.

Manager Alex Morris said: “Callum had a consultation with a specialist yesterday (Monday) and it’s the worst-case scenario, unfortunately.

“He’s going to be out for about three months.

“We were hoping his dislocation could have been just clicked back into place, as it was on Saturday, without further complications. But it’s caused problems with both ligaments and bones, so he will have to undergo an operation.”

The gaffer also revealed that midfielder Oliver Finney has suffered an ankle injury, which will keep him sidelined for about a month.

Morris added: “Oli is about four weeks away, and on top of that we are missing Charlie Colkett (hamstring) and Christopher Long (ankle), so that’s four senior players we are without at the moment.

“But we all know that it is part and parcel of football to get injuries throughout the season, so we just have to find solutions.”