Jack Lankester is set for another five months on the sidelines as he prepares for a second surgery on his back.

The teenager hasn't played since January due to a stress fracture in his back and, after returning during pre-season, suffered a second stress fracture during the pre-season game against Fortuna Dusseldorf.

He's now set for surgery which will keep him out until the start of 2020.

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"Jack had a stress fracture in January. After a period of six months rehabilitation and further scans, he was cleared by a specialist to return to pre-season training," Town physio Matt Byard told the club website.

"Unfortunately Jack suffered a subsequent stress fracture against Fortuna. It's a completely new injury.

"Having spoken to leading consultants in the UK and the US, they have advised us that a minimally invasive procedure will help his fracture to heal.

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"This is specialist approach to the treatment of a stress fracture and he will have surgery next week. He will then have a focused rehabilitation period over the coming months.

"He will have a scan after five months and from there we will have a much clearer idea of when he can return to training."

Lankester took to Twitter after news of his injury was announced: "Gutted is an understatement," he wrote.

"However I will be using this time to get stronger and prepare myself for a big return. "Thank you to everyone for all the messages and I'll see you back on the pitch soon."