COLCHESTER United youngster Milton Oni is set to be sidelined for several months with a knee injury.

The promising 18-year-old ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and torn his medial meniscus following a late tackle in the second half of the U's Carabao Cup tie against Brentford, last month.

Oni was forced off on his first-ever professional start for Colchester after falling victim to a heavy challenge just after the hour mark, in the second-round clash.

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Oni is now set to see a knee specialist, as he plans his road to recovery.

Colchester head physio Hayden Clifton told the club's website: "Due to the knee effusion, (swelling), increasing overnight, we looked to spend a few days settling this down before we sent Milton for an MRI.

"The reason for this is that if you send a player for an MRI with a big effusion on the knee, the image will be distorted as the fluid masks the true pathology.

"We have now received the MRI report and unfortunately, Milton has ruptured his ACL, (Anterior Cruciate Ligament), and torn his medial meniscus.

(Image: RICHARD BLAXALL)

"The next steps for us are to see a knee specialist to identify the next steps.

"It's important at this time that we have a positive outlook on the injury and the road ahead."

It is rotten luck for Oni, who caught the eye of U's boss Danny Cowley in pre-season and broke into his first-team squad for the new season.

Speaking last month, Cowley backed the young midfielder to overcome the challenge ahead.

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Cowley said: “He’s an ultra-positive boy and this is just the next challenge in his journey.

“He’s overcome the challenges that he’s had in his career so far and I’ve no doubt he’ll do the same with this one.

“He’s got a good mentality and he takes it all in his stride.

“We know he’s got the athleticism to live even against the likes of the Premier League players Brentford have and I thought he showed a real calmness and composure with the ball, which is a part of his game which we’ll try to add to and develop."