Tom Bayliss: Shrewsbury Town midfielder faces ankle surgery after season-ending injury
- Published
Tom Bayliss has scored seven times this season since his arrival on a free transfer from Wigan
Shrewsbury Town midfielder Tom Bayliss is to undergo surgery following the season-ending ankle ligament injury he suffered against Morecambe.
Bayliss will now have his ankle reconstructed after rupturing two lateral ligaments late on in the 3-1 win over the Shrimps.
"Tom Bayliss went down to London and had his consultation," said Shrewsbury manager Steve Cotterill.
"He has now been pencilled in for an operation next Tuesday (28 March)."
Shrewsbury have not lost this season in the six League One games and one FA Cup tie in which summer signing Bayliss has scored.
"It's a terrible shame," Cotterill told BBC Radio Shropshire. "It will leave a hole on the pitch.
"Tom has had a very good first season for us having not played a lot of football over the past few years. He has been influential on and off the pitch.
"We're really pleased that he will be able to go for surgery relatively quickly and that he will be back raring to go in pre-season. That will hopefully give his ankle enough time to settle down."
Bayliss has joined striker Dan Udoh and wing-back George Nurse on the long-term injury list.
Both were ruled out for the season after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament operations within a month of each other early on in the current campaign.
Shrewsbury lie 10th in League One with nine games of the season to go, nine points adrift of the play-offs.
The club have also announced that this Saturday's scheduled home game with Joey Barton's Bristol Rovers, postponed because of the Pirates having had three international call-ups, has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, 2 May (19:45 BST).